The Broken Heart Incident: Boulevard of Broken Dreams
by donnieth65
Summary: After the events of Rebel Heart, Blitzfire, the Overstallion of Vault 14, makes his way on a quest to find the treasure his heart seeks. But what is that treasure? Follow Blitz through the Broncston Wasteland to Double Diamond City and beyond to find out what broke his heart in the first place and help him to heal on this quest set in Fallout 4 Equestria.
1. Chapter 1 The Way Back Home

_(Note: Hello all! Guess who's back with another story? That's right. Here's a story focused solely on Blitz and his struggles in the wasteland as a treasure hunter. But what the true treasure is we'll just have to wait to find out. Welcome to Fallout 4, Equestria. I'm excited so let's not wait any longer!)_

 **Chapter 1** The Way Back Home

Nexus Spark

 _Pre-War: 16 Years Before The Megaspells_

Quiet scares me because it screams the truth. The sad thing was, silence was not a blessing under this roof. We were kept on the edge of our hooves. Tonight, clouds filled the starry sky. I'd seen them come in, brought by the pegasi. I didn't mind. I sat on the roof, basking in the downpour. At least it could wash away my anxiety.

Water trickled off my muzzle, the start of tonight's rainfall. I wondered if we'd had so much rain this week because of the conflict with the zebras. That conflict wasn't very important to me. I liked to believe it was raining for me, and for Fire Flower, my younger sister. She was alone in that house right now. Better alone than with our stepfather.

Speaking of whom, a vehicle pulled into the drive, headlights bouncing off the sides of the house. I'm sure my sister had seen them in the living room. I pictured her making her way quickly to the kitchen, or to her room. Anywhere to avoid the trouble he brought. The troubling thing about it though? There was always something wrong.

I don't think he noticed me up here on the roof of the house as he got out of the car and slammed the door shut. The lights went out. Next the creak of the screen door and the front door opening and closing. All these sounds alerted my senses. It was always like this once he got home. You couldn't avoid the tension in this house. It was like a morning fog, clouding my vision. I'm sure this rain would bring fog in the morning.

The rain started then. Not just a slight drizzle now. Now it warned of an oncoming storm. My mane was drenched, strands of my hair hanging in my eyes. I rose a hoof to swipe it to the side, when I heard a crash from inside the house. I jolted and snapped to, looking to the window right behind me and contemplating going back inside. But best to avoid his anger. Luna only knew what that could be.

Lightning flashed, and as though on cue, yelling started up. I would be surprised if the neighbors couldn't hear it. I jumped up to all four hooves, feeling like prey on high alert. I knew he wasn't after me. Fire Flower was the one inside the house.

 _Buck, buck, buck,_ I didn't know what to do. Another crash sent me bolting for the window, a crack of thunder shaking me up. He was hitting her, I knew he was. I fumbled for the window, pushing it up. No time to redo the screen. Let him hit me for that too. Better me than Flower.

Rain water following me inside, wind blowing the curtains. In my hurry, I tripped on my front hooves and went into a roll. I crashed into the bed. I could hear his voice now, muffled by the walls of the house. " _How long do you expect me to wait filly? You think you're entitled here?"_

I only imagined her suppressed response, a tiny whimper. What was he yelling for? Why was he ever yelling? Good questions, but no time. No time. I staggered to my feet, running to the door, and skidding into the hallway. I was on the third floor. I assumed they must be on the second. I raced for the stairs, just as another bolt of lightning lit up the window at the end of the hall.

" _Ahhh!"_ my little sister screamed. It was a piercing scream. No foal should make that sound.

I fell off the last two steps. " _You live under my roof, get fed by my hoof. You think it's acceptable to go out without cleaning your Faust forsaken mess?"_

" _M-my chores were done…"_

I saw the door to my sister's bedroom open, but the hall was empty. He might be an asshole, but he usually respected boundaries. I'd never seen him go into either of our rooms. What was he doing?!

" _Don't lie to me!"_ another scream from Fire Flower followed. " _Is your dumbass brother still not home either? If you can't clean up after yourself, he should learn to. I need to teach both of you a lesson."_ I went at a full gallop to the bedroom now.

My breath caught, but I wasn't sure what else I had expected to find. I stared helplessly as I watched him beating her. Punching her in the stomach as she clenched up, a defenseless 11 year old. Her face was bloody, and my heart wrenched.

"What in tartarus are you doing!" I yelled. "You're hurting her!"

He stopped, turning to me with a scowl, "Look who's finally home."

"I've been home asshole!" I stepped into the room.

"Call me that again," he snarled at me. By then I was almost nose to nose with him. Meanwhile, Fire Flower was still whimpering on the bed.

"Asshole," I growled.

Lashing out, I found his hoof in my face. My vision went white for a few seconds and I felt dizzy. Next thing I knew, I was on the floor, looking up at our stepfather as he turned back to Fire Flower. "Nexus!" she gasped. He slapped her.

"Shut up, the both of you." he snapped. "I think we need to go over some rules again. Stand up Nexus."

I shook my head, scowling at him. "No."

He punched my sister hard in the gut, "Stand up or I hit her again."

I got weakly to my feet, not liking it, "Don't bucking touch her."

"Do I need to use my belt on you? I'd think you're a little too old for that by now." He was smirking at me! Like he bucking knew everything.

"No. No more rules, no more belts, no more hitting. I'm done with it."

"What the buck did you just say to me boy?" He narrowed his eyes at me. "Are you back talking me?"

I gulped, but took a step toward him. I collected myself and managed out a small "Yes. I am."

He hit her again, "You just can't listen." she made a small noise, then her eyes fluttered shut.

"Stop it!" I yelled, then lunged. I began punching him, yelling over and over, "Stop it, stop it, stop it!" I was crazed.

When he finally stopped, he was shaking and staring at me like he'd never seen me before. He got up and backed away from me. Then he just stared from one corner of the room as I pulled myself up and poked at my sister gingerly. "Fire Flower?" I poked her again, "Hey wake up, it's gonna be okay now." she didn't stir. "Flower?" I grabbed her shoulder, shaking her a couple times, "What's wrong sis, come on!" my voice strained now.

"What the buck is going on? Why won't she wake up?" said our stepfather.

"You shut up," I glared at him, "Just shut the fuck up."

I was in tears now as I brought a shaky hoof to my sister's snout. Right next to her nostrils…where no breath came out. I put my hoof on her cheek, "Fire Flower? What's wrong, please wake up!" I begged, but there was no response. She…she…

"You killed her! You bucking _killed her!_ " I screamed, tears streaming freely from my eyes now. He was shaking his head, in denial, but I was yelling, "She's dead! It's your fault! She's dead! She's dead…" he ran away, bolting from the room.

" _Fire Flower!"_ I wailed as I hugged her.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

Knocking. In the middle of the night. Somepony knocking at the front door this late at night. Or was it morning? I didn't bucking know. All I knew was how groggy I was. "Ughhh," I moaned as I crawled out of bed. I heard the door downstairs open.

" _Is Blitzfire home?"_ I knew immediately who that was. I also knew that he never called me Blitzfire. Something was wrong.

Wide awake, I ran out of my bedroom and flew down the stairs. I would've gone faster if I had wings, you bet your tail. "Nexy?" I asked, shoving past my parents. Holy _shit_ did he look like a wreck, and I'm not a hundred percent certain it was the rain that was streaking down his cheeks.

"Blitzy!" he cried, shoving past my parents at the door and latching onto me. I embraced him as he shook.

"What happened?" I asked.

"C-can we just…go upstairs?" he glanced back at my concerned parents and I nodded.

* * *

 _Present Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

Calling a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. Just as the wasteland was the wasteland no matter where you went. The Capital Wasteland was no different from that. I found ruin everywhere. So what was I searching for as I picked through the dust and debris in each abandoned building? My heart told me there was treasure to be found. I still hadn't found it.

I was at the bottom of a staircase inside a war torn apartment in a town once named Conquine. If I looked out the window, the Museum of Friendship could be seen. I think I remember, there was going to be a celebration, just before the megaspells fell. My mother had called from Manehattan, Celestia knows why she'd been there. _Oh honey, just one more celebration, before we're all whisked away to separate Stables. We may never see each other again._ I told her I was already signing documents to become an Overstallion for Stable-Tech and that I was too busy to go.

Now here I was, wondering why I was even here. Maybe I was curious about what I'd find inside that museum. But I'd save the best for last, just as I always did. At that thought, I made my way up the stairs. I wasn't sure what I expected to find, but what I did find almost gave me a jolt. I caught my breath, careful not to give myself up. I've been in these situations plenty of times before.

Sitting at the window at the far end of the room was a raider. He was heavily armored and he supported a sniper rifle on the sill of the window. It was aimed at the Museum of Friendship. _What the buck?_ I lifted my secondary arm, a small silver .44 magnum revolver, on the grip an engraving of a symbol from my long buried past. I think he heard me cock the weapon because he turned with a startled, "What was that?" I immediately silenced him with a quick pull of the trigger.

Like it had been cued onstage, gunfire started up outside. "Well shit," I groaned. I moved to the window, gingerly poking my head out. On the street ensued a battle, one front was a small group of raiders. However, I couldn't quite see who they were shooting at. I shook my head, _Am I really about to do this?_ I argued with myself. _You've done it before._

I shot down the stairs, and stopped next to the exit. I had to judge this situation carefully. I mean, there had to be something good in that museum if raiders were shooting down the door to get it. If there was something good, I was always there. So I peeked out the door of the little bureau I was in, assessing my situation. I carefully held my revolver upright.

Outside a couple raiders had fallen, and a chocolate colored pony wearing an aussie slouch hat stood on the balcony, firing his weapon into the group of raiders. He was outnumbered by quite a few, and I knew if I didn't do something quick, he'd be dead in a few seconds.

"What am I getting myself into this time Blitzy?" I shook my head as I aimed down the sites of my magnum. I took a shot at the nearest raider, one perched behind a rusted out car. My aim was flawless and he was dead in an instant.

By now I'd been noticed, so I came out fighting. I gritted my teeth as I dodged a spray of bullets and rolled behind a car. Metal pinged as I only narrowly avoided my death. I rolled my eyes. I'd been at this for a long time. These ponies had no idea who they were dealing with. I'd been through raider dens, ghoul infested sewers, nests of mutated animals, you name it.

The life of a treasure hunter.

"Hey!" somepony was yelling. Chocolate from the balcony. "Hey you! Grab that laser musket and lend a hoof! I've gotta group of settlers inside and the raiders are almost through the door."

I glanced at the gun lying a few feet away with narrowed eyes. Who was he to ask for that kind of help out here in the wasteland? It wasn't my mess to clean up. Yet, here I was, and this was the Museum of Friendship afterall. It was just my luck. Imagine the irony of that.

I snorted, knowing if I went for it I'd be putting myself in the open. Most of the raiders were focused on the balcony, so I had my chance. I fired a volley toward the nearest enemy, lunging for the larger weapon in the middle of the street. I snatched it, watching the raider fall, then rolled to the next car.

"Give it a few cranks!" the pony called to me.

Grabbing the handle, I turned it once. The whole thing vibrated powerfully and the cartridge lit up a bright red. I turned it again, and light filled the chamber. Then a raider was upon me. Time to test this baby.

I smirked as I pulled the trigger, watching as the raider was instantly vaporized, nothing but red dust on the ground. "Not so tough anymore, huh?" I cranked it a couple more times. Ok, so maybe it was a powerful weapon, but colt would it get annoying if I had to crank it every time.

Threat neutralized, I made my way to the museum entrance. _This isn't on the maps Blitzy,_ I told myself. "Looks like you've discovered the Museum of Friendship." hopefully there was something good to be found.

I reached for the door when I stopped cold at the sound of more fighting. Pressing my ear to the door, I could hear shouts from inside. More raiders. Damn, chocolate was in a pinch wasn't he? He probably wasn't alone if he hadn't been killed yet.

I guess curiosity got the better of me, because I pushed the door open and made my way in. The heavy oaks shut behind me with a bang. The entrance hall was in shambles, not unexpectedly. Statues had crumbled and wood had fallen. I noticed straight ahead was a ticket booth and a gate, above that was a walkway.

I only took two steps in when I started getting shot at. Raiders in the ticket booths were sneering at me. "You ain't gettin' nowhere pal!" Up above, a gray pony with a gun between his teeth ran past, another raider on his tail. The raider stopped when he saw me and turned, leaving the gray pony alone.

I dove behind a pedestal for cover. It had looked like the gate was locked, no way I'd get through that way. There had to be another way I wasn't seeing. I wouldn't be a good scavenger if I thought there wasn't.

Scanning my options, I took in the room. Not unexpectedly, the place was trashed. I saw pieces of a large machine that must've crashed through the roof long ago. It looked like propellers…I quickly noticed the three raiders up ahead, waiting for the second I'd come out. I could take care of them easily with an apple grenade. Over to the right was a door broken down off its hinges. Just what I wanted!

I plucked a grenade from my vest, pulling the pin with my teeth. Then I lobbed it, right down the middle, like bowling. I shot the musket at the raider on the walkway. The laser hit him in the torso, not killing him, but causing him to fall, right in front of the apple.

"Buck this," he grumbled, starting to get up. _Blam!_ All three of them were blown to pieces. The explosion rattled the locked gate, but it didn't appear to damage it.

"Not getting through that way." I shrugged, trotting over to the other door. The plaque read Exhibit Maintenance. I took a step in.

There was a loud whirring sound as the lights came up with a flash. A pitch black pony with an angry face was leaping straight for me. It gave my heart a jolt in that split second, but I realized it was just a mannequin. There were a few mannequins in here, all of different things.

The one facing me I recognized as a changeling. I chuckled, thinking back on ancient history. Ancient by now at least. But changelings hadn't been a problem even back in my day. That was around 200 years ago.

I sighed, trying not to think back on that. It wasn't important anymore, and I couldn't let it be. I knew that wouldn't stop it from sitting in the back of my mind though. It always had. For now though, I would just have to let the thrill of battle distract me. I'd already made it my goal to get inside that museum. It wasn't on the treasure map, but it was an important landmark nonetheless.

I shoved the mannequin aside, entering the next room. A loud whine filled the air, before a light was thrown onto the far wall. Everything was basked in an eerie glow from the projection. It was a video showing the Mane 6 battling some creature or another. Seeing as I didn't recognize the villain, I'm sure I'd only been a young colt when this battle took place. That was so so long ago.

Faust! I _had_ to get out of these exhibits. I sent a round into the projector, ending the show, then ran from the room. I shook myself hard, then looked to see where I'd ended up. I was on the other side of the locked security gate, the raider side of the ticket booths. Oh colt, were there raiders waiting for me. They hadn't seen me yet, and I threw myself behind a stray crate. That was close! Now what to do?

 ** _(Chapter 2 posted at 6:30am CT 12/23/18_**

 _A great start to another chilling story right? But hold your horseshoes, because we're not finished yet. Blitzfire still has work to do to save these sad ponies. And he'll get a chance to see what's in store once he chats with Mama Madmare. Love you guys!_

 **Brohoof! /)**


	2. Chapter 2 Wrong Side of the Bed

_(Note: Here comes Chapter 2 with a lot more action! Apple grenades, fusion cores and power saddling. Grab your seat and your popcorn because When Friendship Calls is just getting started. Blotzfire's first quest! He even gets a Pip-Buck! Lucky ol' Overstallion.)_

 **Chapter 2** Wrong Side of the Bed

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Pre-War: 16 Years Before The Megaspells_

Resting my head in his mane, I held my best friend close. He was snuggled into my chest, still sniffling. Earlier he had cried like a baby, and he still hadn't said why. But I knew this was serious, and he would tell me in due time. I had to wait it out. Meanwhile, I stroked Sparky's back slowly.

He and I lay in my bed together. We'd had sleepovers before, but usually he had a sleeping bag. I was there to comfort him when he needed it though. We were close friends, and I wasn't ashamed to hold him. He would do it for me too, in front of other ponies! We had a special bond, unbreakable.

"Blitz…" he muttered into my chest fur.

"I'm still here," I smiled.

He shifted against me and looked up at me, "You stink!" he stuck his tongue out.

"Hey!" I whined, "Don't blame me, it's the middle of the night, I haven't had my morning shower." I fake pouted.

Nexus looked over at my alarm clock, "It's actually 3 in the morning."

"Always gotta be so literal." I frowned. Taking a look at my friend, I knew he was still avoiding something. "Hey, what's wrong Sparky?"

He fell back toward me, his face smashing into my chest, his horn barely missing scraping me. "Don't, you know that name sounds like a dog's name!"

"You're avoiding the question."

He lifted his chin, still resting on me, staring up into my eyes, "Fire Flower…he hurt Fire Flower…" he could barely whisper the words.

"You're stepfather?!" I straightened up, glancing at my window. _Curtains!_

"Mhm…"

"What did that bastard do?" I growled.

"Blitz…she…she's d-dead!" with that he burst into tears again.

"Oh Faust…" the breath escaped me. "Faust, Nex."

Suddenly it felt like I was floating there, the bed just fell out from beneath me. We were in a void, just the two of us. That poor filly. How could this happen to her? She was too young, too innocent. My friend cried for her, and I felt cold. Slowly, I lifted a hoof, putting it on his back. I hugged him, and he reached up to embrace me as well. We held each other. We held tightly until the next thing we knew we were opening our eyes the next day.

Those powerful neon green eyes were the first thing I saw when I opened mine. I sucked in a breath. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm gonna kill him," said Nexus, sitting up.

"Hey, wait now!" I sat up too. Then a yawn overcame me and I had to stretch out. "I haven't even taken my shower yet."

"I'm serious Blitzfire!" he snapped. I shot my attention toward him. "He needs to pay for what he did."

"Nexus, you're not gonna accomplish anything by killing anypony. You'll only be stooping to his level."

"I'm going home, Blitz. Is my friend coming with me?"

I couldn't let him do this. I had to push my way back into his head, make him rethink this. I knew I could get him to consider rational thought. What did my friend like above all else? What did he think about more than anything when he was in the right mindset? I closed my eyes. Never thought I'd be the one advocating for this, but…

"Nexus, why don't we go to school, take the day slow. One thing at a time before we go making plans to dig a grave." I stared firmly into his eyes.

"School…" he breathed. He glanced around like he'd been in a trance. "I…I better go make myself lunch." he looked at the door, then to me. "Um, care if I look in the fridge?"

"Go ahead, help yourself buddy," I smiled brightly. "My parents probably already left for work."

Now that that was taken care of, time for my morning shower.

* * *

Present _Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

"I'm gonna run out of these things," I spoke aloud to myself as I pulled the pin on an apple grenade with my teeth. Trust me, I knew where to get more, but oh colt would that be a long journey.

Right now all I needed to think about was surviving these raiders and getting upstairs. I knew I'd seen some up there, chasing down the wastelanders I'd seen. That meant getting through my current opposition. So I spat out the pin and tossed the grenade over the crate. It exploded and I heard some cries. Now I was being shot at.

"Heh," I smirked. I cranked my new laser musket, popping my head up to aim. As soon as I saw the raider shooting at me, hiding across the main room and behind the wall to the next set of hallways, I shot at her. Nothing but a pile of red ashes.

The main room was torn apart if I had to be completely honest. The building was made primarily of wood. However, wood rots over time and with no one to maintain the building since the war, it was falling apart. Not a surprise, just an observation. There was a basement, as I noticed when I passed a caved in part of the floor. Huh, I wouldn't have been able to get over here even if the gate was unlocked. The hole was right in front of the ticket booths.

I could use the fallen wood as a sort of ramp down there, and I saw yet another gate. Shaking my head though, I decided whatever it was, I would have to worry about it later. I trotted over to the side hallways. A staircase went upward and I heard some shouts coming from the upper floor. I slid the musket onto my back, pulling my revolver. It was about to get close quarters. I'd had plenty of experience with that and I knew that a smaller weapon was always better.

Ignoring the other passages on this floor, I made my way upstairs. It felt cold up here but I didn't take pause. I had a goal, and nothing got in my way when it came to a goal. I'd walked through irradiated bunkers to find a Stable-Tech treasure. This was nothing. On the landing was an ammunition box. Eh, normally I'd open it up, but it probably belonged to the raiders and they didn't use any of the same weapons as I.

I rounded the corner, a sharp turn to the next corridor. I saw a flickering blue light, and that's where the voices drifted from. I took it one step at a time, no chances. I emerged into yet another exhibit. No raiders here, yet still the echoes of their laughing voices. I shook my head, lowering my gun. There was a hologram projected onto the wall, the source of the flickering light. It depicted Twilight and her friends, standing tall. A plaque was in the very center of the curving wall with the image. I ignored that and continued on.

The wall on the far side opposite the image had collapsed, leading to the next hall. I aimed my revolver as soon as I entered, and rightly so. I began shooting the moment I heard gunfire, and the first two raiders in my path fell. The last ducked behind a wall, dodging my shots.

Running at full speed for him I yelled as I smashed my hoof down on his gun, causing him to drop it. I aimed at his head. "Get it over with asshole," he snarled at me. I shook my head, "Don't think I enjoy it like you do, I'm not scum." then I pulled the trigger, blasting his brains across the wall. "Disgusting," I spat as I ran past the raider's body.

The next hallway diverged. To the left I could see a balcony that was directly over the entrance chambers. To the right I saw a barricade at the end of the hall. I'm sure there were more raiders hiding out in there, but I needed to find the survivors first. I ran to the balcony just in time to see more raiders heading for a stairwell for the third floor. "Hey!" I shouted but I don't think they heard me.

I shot after them, trying to catch them before they reached the survivors. I honestly don't know why I cared so much, or what I'd gotten myself into, but I couldn't let them get to those ponies. I'd gotten myself nose deep in something once again, all because I was following a map through some random town and scavenging at the wrong place. It was still yet to see if it was also at the wrong time or not.

"Open up!"

Upstairs, raiders were kicking at a door all the way across the third floor balcony. That was obviously where they ponies were hiding. Looks like I was here to save them. I rolled my eyes. You got nowhere in the wasteland by trusting other ponies, yet here I was, lending a helping hoof. I sighed as I ducked into a set of offices.

Technically, there were two separate rooms set aside here for offices. Yet, the wall separating them was completely demolished, making it one giant room. A great way to sneak up on those raiders out there if I do say so. The second door in the next room would be right outside the door they were attempting to kick down.

I slowly pushed open the door, listening for the raiders. It was only open a crack when I realized they'd given up on kicking down the door and were coming back this way. Faust! _Just wait it out Blitzy, they pass, you shoot._ I watched carefully, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. I took a deep breath, then burst out when their backs were to me. I shot one in the head, the next spun when he heard me and I just missed him. "Buck!" I cursed.

He pulled out a shotgun, double barrelled to be precise, and I ducked back into the offices. Outside he was making a creepy laugh. "Heheheh, come out little pony. I won't hurt ya. Too bad that is." I ducked back into the cubicles, hiding and biding time. Let him find me, I'd just put a bullet between his eyes.

The door clicked open and in came the raider. I could hear him shuffling around between the cubicles, looking for me. I backed up a step, deeper into the units. My back hoof kicked over a metal trash can. I swore under my breath as the shuffling made its way toward me. He was turning toward me and I jumped out yelling, "Come get me then!" as I fired at him. He was down in a heartbeat. Raiders were so stupid.

I went to the room the survivors hid in and knocked a couple times. "Hey, it's me, can ya let me in?"

"Depends," came that deep accent from the chocolate colored pony. "Who's "me"?"

"The guy outside you told to grab a laser musket and help out?" I shook my head. Never trust each other, a good motto.

The door opened. "Right, we heard ya out there fighting." said the chocolate colored pony. "Come in. My name's Press Peirce." he tipped his hat at me. "Behind me is Surge, over there on the couch is Mama Madmare and a couple other ponies from the city over."

I took stock of the ponies in the room. Mama, a dark violet pink mare, was a fragile old lady, wearing a knitted sweater and a beanie to match, and I believe the walker was hers as well. Surge, an olive green pony with a black mane cut into a thick mohawk, was right behind Press, tapping at a terminal relentlessly. He wore some steamer looking armor over an orange vest.

"So what's the deal?" I asked, straight to the point. "We've still got raiders in that museum you know."

"And out on the streets," grumbled Surge. He adjusted a pair of goggles he had on his head, pulling them down over his eyes. He was staring intently at the terminal. "Buck, I can't crack it!"

"What are you trying to do?" I asked him.

"Listen, any second now, we'll have more raiders here to bust down the door." said Press. He adjusted the collar of his trench coat, "But, we've got a plan."

"Did ya notice the crashed vertiherd?" said Surge.

I thought back on it, from when I first entered the museum up till now. Now that he mentioned it, I did see it! That hunk of metal protruding from the ceiling in the main room had been the front end of the flying vehicle. Not flying anymore, it probably crashed long before the megaspell that hit this area. "Right, I did see it." I nodded.

Surge took off the goggles and set them down. He looked me in the eye, "Well, there's a power saddle up there with it, used ta belong to the pilot of that vessel. Now, only problem is, it don't gotta power core."

"Right," said Press, "but I realized when making our way up here that the museum had a generator operating with a core in it, after passing the basement."

"So what's Surge been doing? Trying to crack the locked door?" I nodded to the computer.

"Smart cookie," Surge nodded, "But, trying and failing."

"Whattaya want me to do?" I had a feeling I already knew the answer to that question. This certainly wasn't my first rodeo.

Press answered, "Grab the core, reactivate the saddle, then take out the raiders in the streets. While you do that, we'll clean up in here and meet back in the main room once we're done."

"Sounds like a plan." I stated firmly, then turned to rush out the door.

"Good luck!" Press called as the door slammed behind me.

 _Don't need luck_ , I thought to myself, a determined expression on my face.

* * *

I raced down the stairs to the foyer. Yet, I knew there was trouble, and I had the laser musket drawn. But I was running out of ammo for it. Halfway down the stairs is when I came face to face with the next group of raiders. Two on the landing, and two more hiding around the corner at the bottom. "Great," I spat, "get out of my way." I rose my gun.

"Right, like you're gonna stop us," the first raider snickered. I turned him into a pile of ash the moment he opened his mouth.

"Who's next?" I snapped.

A raider came at me, balancing on two hooves because he carried a flaming club weapon, one he was pounding lightly into his opposite hoof, ignoring the fire and implying a beating with the gesture. It was something he probably threw together from scratch, but still, I had to hand it to him. "Nice try," I told him, but the joke was on me when the laser musket failed to start up with a pitiful hum and whine.

"Shit!" I tossed it to the side, and reached for my trusty revolver, something I always stocked up ammo for. But I didn't have enough time to draw it as the raider swung his club at me.

I leapt back, narrowly avoiding meeting my end by that flaming popsicle. "You've got agility," said the raider grunt. "Isn't that one of the things that makes us 'S.P.E.C.I.A.L.'? Haha!" he laughed as he swung at me again and I ducked to avoid it.

Well, now that that was out of the way I finally had a chance to raise my gun and fire. When it came to gun against club, gun won every time. As I looked down on the fallen raider, I thought just how stupid they really were. They thought they could do whatever they wanted but when somepony actually fights back they prove they can't hold their own.

I made my way down the stairs, knowing my mission. I turned the corners to reach the back side of the foyer again, the gaping hole that led down to the basement. I wondered where the raiders were at this point. Perhaps I'd taken out all the ones who'd made it inside. Now all I had to do was crack this terminal.

Trotting up to it, I gave one last quick glance over my shoulder before I got to work. No harm in being cautious. Okay. I turned it on and went into its internal database. I pulled up the coding, random jumbles of symbols scrolling across the screen. Words could be seen listed between bunches of symbols. I'd done this before and managed to hack, but that didn't mean it wasn't difficult. These words represented potential passwords, but the computer would lock me out if I got it wrong four times.

The only way to do this was to figure out what options I may have. It'd be a guessing game on the first couple tries. I scrolled down and chose a word. It said one match. I glanced at the rest of my choices, wondering which one it could be. They'd have to be something with one of the letters of the word I'd already chosen. I chose another word, thinking I had it. One match. I made a low growl of frustration. So it hadn't been the letter I'd thought. But the second word lowered my choices. I chose another one. It stated two matches. That was better but really didn't help. But I now knew one letter for sure and could now guess at the other.

 _Careful Blitzy,_ I took a deep breath, scanning the last of my options. Still so many to choose from but only one would unlock the door. I had narrowed it down to three. That was a 33% chance of getting it right. I stopped it on one of the three and yelled, "Buck it!" I closed my eyes as I hit the Enter button. There was a loud _Aarnt!_ sound and then a click as the lock turned and the door released. Oh thank Faust!

I went inside to find a generator. It was humming quietly, filled with power from the core. I glanced around, not sure what I was being wary of. Hey! At least this place had proven some fruit. As a treasure hunter, I wasn't about to leave empty hoofed. I pulled the power core from its socket. There was a click then a whir as the machine powered down. I don't know what it was powering, but I didn't care to stick around long enough to get my head blown off by some raider.

Speaking of raiders, I turned around to find one waiting for me with a cold smile. "Eh, a hero hmm? Well bub, why dontcha just hand over that there power core? It ain't yours." he held up a hoof, gesturing for me to give it up.

I glanced down at the cylinder, hugging it to my chest. "I don't think so. It's not yours either."

"Ha! Funny!" he drew a weapon.

I was quick on the draw though, tossing the core high up, drawing my pistol and firing, catching the core before it hit the ground. I smirked, but the raider dived to the side and my bullet barely grazed him. "Buck!" I cursed. I left the generator compartment, looking for the raider, but he must've found a place to hide. "Licking your wounds?" I called. I shook my head. Backing up the rampway so I could keep an eye on the basement, I made my way back up. He really wasn't worth my time, and he wouldn't stand a chance against me once I got this baby in the power saddle.

I was on the landing, the ground floor, when the raider jumped out, bullets spraying. He was armed with a automatic rifle! Just my luck. I ducked and rolled, barely avoiding my death. Well, if he wanted to play dirty, then I would too. I pulled my last apple grenade, plucking the stem with my teeth. "Hey! Why don't you take it?" I called to him. "Just don't shoot and I'll toss you the core." I glanced down at the apple. Eh, I wasn't lying.

"That's what I thought little pony. Come quiet then!" he was laughing now. _We'll see who gets the last laugh._

I went to the landing, where he was visible at the bottom, waiting for me. "Here ya go then!" I tossed the grenade. He was smiling the entire time, until 5 seconds after I pulled the stem, he caught the grenade thinking it was the power core and it exploded in his face. "Hmph," I could easily always be one step ahead of these bozos.

I ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time. The roof access wasn't far off. I ran full speed at the door, reaching for the push bar and slamming it open. Up one last flight of metal stairs and I emerged onto the roof. There it was, the vertiherd, halfway in the building, its tail sticking up. The big metal beast had survived most of the impact, as its structure was mostly intact. I was surprised this thing hadn't been reduced to twisted beams and rods. But here it was, 200 years later, mostly in one piece.

That didn't say much for the pilot. I moved past the power saddle on my way to the cockpit. There was only one skeleton in the front seat, and I wondered what happened to the copilot. It didn't really matter, but I did notice a little orb sitting in the passenger seat. A memory sphere! Who would've thought I'd see one all the way out here? This little piece of arcane memory magic condensed into one little ball.

I picked it up, feeling thoughtful. A true treasure hunter held himself high with honor, at least, that's what I had always thought. I wasn't somepony to just brush off the past. It was my past after all. I was probably up and running the day this vertiherd crashed. I don't remember hearing about it, but I'm sure it had been on the news. I was just a college colt I bet. I let the memory wash over me.

* * *

 _It was just a normal mission, first, fly over the city and pick out any insurgents, then scout out their camp in West Saddlebridge. That wasn't too far past Conquine. Last, report back to HQ. A vertiherd with 4 of us, two to pilot the vessel, one to control the minigun, and me. They called me Sarge. I was their staff sergeant. SSG Daily. They looked up to me and trusted me. Unfortunately, it all went horribly wrong._

 _"I'm not seeing anything, sir. You sure HQ was right, that there's actually a zebra camp around here?" the pilot's voice came over my power saddle's radio._

 _"We haven't even made it to Saddlebridge," I laughed._

 _"I'll be surprised if they've got a camp down there." said Flat Heart. He was busy polishing his combat knife. He always had that thing with him._

 _He and I were close. We had actually gone through basic training together, before I'd ever made it to squad leader. He had turned down the job, proud to let me have it. For that I was grateful. He'd always thought I was a very capable pony. I'm not sure if it was true, but he was confident in me, and I wouldn't have made it without him. Too bad I would let him down only two days after that…_

 _"Why's that?" chuckled the copilot._

 _"Come on! This close to Sanctuary? They'd have been caught." Flat Heart shook his head, setting down his knife and making eye contact with me._

 _I smiled at him, he was always bright. No wonder he made it to Captain. He'd be squad leader if I wasn't here, but he'd always insisted he stick with me. Over his shoulder, out the door, I noticed we were approaching the Museum of Friendship. The vertiherd turned in its direction._

 _An alarm sounded up front, an alert for the pilot, but it alerted me as well. "What's that?" I turned to him._

 _He checked the dash, clicking a few buttons. "I"m not sure…some sort of energy pulse on the radar."_

 _"It's not close enough to tell…" the copilot started, but his voice trailed off. The two pilots glanced at each other._

 _I moved to the front, putting my hoof on the shoulder of one of the chairs, "What, what is it?"_

 _The pilot gave me the most grim expression I'd ever seen anypony give another. Like he was staring death in the face. "Sir, it's an EMP. From high arcana burst."_

 _The color drained from my face and I looked to the copilot for confirmation. He nodded, "The megaspells have dropped."_

 _"This is it. If the zebras dropped theirs, then surely Twilight dropped ours. The end of the world…" I looked over my shoulder to my friend. He was biting his lip._

 _"That's not the only thing," stated the copilot, turning back to his dials. "The electromagnetic activity is increasing. If it continues at this rate…"_

 _Flat Heart stood up, staring out the window. "It's coming in from behind." he stated, his voice low. He sounded strangely at ease in this revelation. We all turned to look. The EMP wasn't just increasing, it was visible. A vast yellow cloud, billowing its way over Conquine. It was coming straight for us._

 _Out the front window, there was the dome atop the Museum of Friendship, the arc of its front. There were AC and generator units on the back side. The museum had a beautiful rooftop garden to the left side of the building with sprawling greens and vibrant flowers. Lastly, the roof access on the right side, a little walk the was on the side facing the cathedral with a view of the street toward the front._

 _I looked around at my team. A gloom had settled over us. The pilot sighed, "Sir, the EMP will reach us before we find a safe place to land. We're going down."_

 _I stood up straighter, "Then brace yourselves."_

 _We all grabbed onto what we could, the pilots needing it less because they wore seatbelts. Flat Heart and I grabbed onto the bars on the sides of the cargo doors. "EMP critical in 5…4…3…2…1…"_

 _The entire vessel rocked a few alarms bleeped angrily at us, then a lot more slowly than expected, all the lights flicked off. We were a few feet from the museum. In all its glory it rose up to meet us on our descent. Then we smashed straight into it, a nose dive, our propellers digging deep into the roof. Alarms blared, yelling about the crash, but all other systems were lost and there was certainly no way it would ever fly again._

 _Flat Heart and I flew forward, the force of the impact causing us to lose our grip. We smashed into the front seats, and the world blackened. The last thing I saw was the damage to the left side of the bird. I couldn't see the pilot…_

* * *

I dropped the memory sphere, completely shocked at what that stallion had gone through. I hadn't let the memory finish playing, but it wasn't something I wanted to stand here and spend too much time on. It was just another taste of the horrors this wasteland had brought upon the world. The first taste of it really. I wondered then, if my mother had been near when this bird had crashed. If she'd seen it, or if she'd been far away. No! I'm sure that by then she'd been brought to a Stable, safe from the EMP, the Blackout. Safe from the drop of the megaspells, and the arcana burst. Radiation…

I shook my head, hard, clearing my thoughts of the past. I had never been one to let ghosts haunt me. I had left that behind me. If I didn't do that then I'd be lost. So instead, I turned to the power saddle and opened the casket in the back, turning the crank and letting it hiss open. Soo, it wasn't the pilots armor after all, as the memory had revealed. This armor had once belonged to SSG Daily.

I pulled out the dead battery, letting it fall the the rooftop. Next I put my fully charged power core in. There was a loud whir, and I took it as a good sign. I closed the chamber, and the armor hummed. I knew I had restored it. So I opened it and climbed inside. It closed around me, sealing me in cold protection. It powered on.

" _Now overriding SSG Daily's protocols. Welcome user 14. Access granted to Overstallion Ravager Blitzfire."_ said a computerized mare's voice in my head.

"Wait! How—" I started.

Onscreen a HUD appeared. An Eyes Forward Sparkle! How this was possible I had no idea. The computer began speaking again, " _To access Pip-Buck functions, activate with your dominate hoof. To engage S.A.T.S. focus on your target. Thank you Overstallion."_

To the lower left speedometer like gauges showed, informing me of my HP and AP. A compass in the lower center screen appeared, showing many targets suddenly popping up. I had yet to figure this out but at this point I had no time. My goal was to kill the last of the raiders that sought to infiltrate the museum. I had to stop them, to save the settlers inside.

"Alright Blitzy, time to do this."

* * *

Nexus Spark

 _Pre-War: 16 Years Before The Megaspells_

Out here, my shadow was the only one who walked beside me. Now that I'd lost my home, and my sister. But there it was, the house, where I had once lived, surrounded by police cars. From within the bushes at the end of the yard and near the woods, I viewed the cop cars surrounding the property. I was frowning deeply, lost in thought. Death surrounded this place. Death and sadness. I felt lost now after everything that had happened. That's why I knew in my heart what I wanted from returning here. I had calculated it precisely. Its what I did, what I was good at. I'm a smart cookie.

I had told Blitzy exactly what I wanted. I had come for exactly that. The police would be here for quite awhile. They were tying up loose ends. They'd been here all night and I'm not sure when they would be leaving. I knew I wanted to go inside. I also knew they wouldn't let me. It didn't matter. Everything would be under wraps soon enough.

Standing up, I moved toward the house. That's when from the side I was pummeled by a white blur. We tumbled over and over, reaching the edge of the hedges, but we did not roll into sight. "Blitzy!" I gasped. My heart raced, pounding furiously in my chest.

"Nexy, what are you doing here?" Blitz had a fire in his eyes, one befitting his name. He was always so fiery and filled with determination. He was above me, staring deep into my own. He looked back and forth between my eyes, trying to understand what I was doing here. I knew…

"I told you…" I breathed. I don't know what I was saying, what I was doing. I couldn't tear my gaze from his. I was so scared.

He shook his head, planting his hooves on either side of me. I could feel his breath moving in and out, his stomach against mine. "Please, tell me you won't do this Nexus." There were shouts from the house. My house. I closed my eyes.

"It's already done."

 _(How great. Nexus has killed his stepstallion. Not a happy ending for this family. Let's just hope he and his friend can figure out how to work it out. It's gonna be a bumpy road, one that sets the pair on their road in the first place. Now let's see how Blitzy takes care of business. He does still have a premonition to hear from new friends once he's through. Now that's a treasure!_

 **Brohoof! /)**


	3. Chapter 3 Answers Left Unspoken

_(Note: I'm back with Chapter 3! And guess what? Blitzy gets power saddling and a Pip-Buck! Pretty interesting stuff so lets dive in. :)_

 **Chapter 3** Answers Left Unspoken

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Pre-War: 16 Years Before The Megaspells_

I dragged my best friend straight back to my house. I had not spoken to him since the second he'd told me it was already done. Everything had gone completely silent when he had said that. I had laid there on top of my closest friend, our breathing aligned, our eyes never straying from each others'…our muzzles only inches apart…. Then the shouting from the police. I had broken the eye contact and together we had crawled to the shrubs, to watch as the police carried a body bag between two of them. His stepfather…the stallion was dead.

Now the two of us sat in my bedroom, me on my bed, hind legs dangling and fore hooves supporting me to sit up, and Nexus on the floor, on a pillow. He stared toward the window, but I couldn't take my eyes off him. He was clinging to his backpack, one strap still around his right hoof. He hadn't spoken and neither had I. There was no way, just no way I could believe he would have done this. Yet he didn't deny it. Was he happy about it? There was no reading his mind when he wouldn't even look at me.

"My mom has agreed to let you stay here." I spoke first, after about an hour.

Nexus broke his stare from the window and blinked up at me like a lost colt. He looked like a colt just sitting there, small. "Where will I sleep?" he said quietly. He glanced at the floorboards.

"Nexy…look at me buddy." I smiled.

He spoke suddenly, looking me straight in the eye and serious, "What if I did it?"

"Did what?" I was taken aback.

"Killed him? Would you be okay with that? Or…would you hate me?"

I sat on the question. I was surprised he'd even asked that. Not because of my answer, no, I knew exactly what my answer was. I was surprised because he questioned my loyalty to him. Our friendship. We'd grown up together, gone to school together. I was there in the waiting room when Fire Flower was born, and also there when his mother had died of cancer. "Spark, if you killed him then I'd be there for you to hide the evidence. I mean seeing as the police already took the body." I laughed an empty laugh. It seemed to perk him up though.

He smiled shyly at me. Nexus was never one to do anything shyly. We were troublemakers! But there he was, and I couldn't help thinking he was cute. "Thanks Blitz. That means a lot."

"I did tell you not to though. It doesn't accomplish anything. It doesn't bring her back." I shook my head. Nexus looked away from me again. No! I didn't want to upset him like that. Damn! It hadn't even been a day, I was being insensitive.

I shot to the floor, crawling toward him. I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close. "Nexy, I'm sorry."

He hugged me back, "I can't believe my sister's really gone Blitzy. I knew he was terrible, I just never saw this coming."

"Nopony did. Nopony could have." I said. I saw tears forming in his eyes and knew this was pushing it. "So did you do it?"

Nexus seized up, withdrawing his arms and ending the hug. I drew away from him, looking him over. For a few moments he didn't speak. Then he finally asked, "Where will I sleep?"

* * *

 _Present Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

What's the first thing I did when I got sealed up in that power saddle? I jumped off a freaking roof. I got scared if I was being honest. I would never admit it out loud. I don't know where it came from really. But the moment the saddle clicked into place around me, locking me inside, I jumped forward, but the saddle was right next to the roof's edge and I plunged straight for the ground.

"Blitz, you crazy buffoon, get ahold of yourself!" I shook my head, but holy crap, the street came up to meet me.

I smashed into the pavement, and I bent my knees to brace myself. The impact was next to nothing, my power saddle taking the brunt of it. I glanced around. _Okay EFS, tell me what to do next._ That's when it did. [CAUTION] I remember when I had expected to receive my Pip-Buck back before I'd been sealed in a freezer for a coffin. I had read up on functions, so I would be familiar with it. I also read about how EFS and the Pip-Buck worked hoof-and-hoof. Caution meant enemies were nearby and searching for me. I was just in time to save the museum from the last of the raiders.

I activated the minigun attachment, and I was pleased to hear the satisfying whir of the weapon revving up. "Prepare to eat lead." I smirked. I didn't need to use SATS, not when my targets were easy pickings. The moment they came into view, I sent rain down on them. I could feel satisfied about tearing them to shreds and them not being able to do a thing to stop me. But I wasn't like them, and that would be stooping to their level. The only victory I felt was being able to save the settlers from them.

I moved for the door of the museum, thinking I was home free. " _RRRRROOOUWWW!"_ came a loud howl behind me. I recognized a roar like that. Turning around, I knew what was there. Crawling from a large sewer grate covering that it had just twisted and shoved aside, was the biggest timber-claw I had ever seen. Trust me, I'd seen plenty of them in my time.

Buck, I remember back when you only had to worry about avoiding the woods at night so a lone timber-wolf wouldn't come at you. Oh, but you could just call pest control and they'd be gone! Now I was pest control, and I rose my musket, "Say hello to my little friend," I winked and cranked it up. Three cranks and _blam!_ The claw reared back, and I was outta ammo. I had time to change positions, making the tactical move to get the buck out of there.

The creature came after me, running on all fours and going ballistic. I lifted my weapon but it leapt through the air and its maw latched onto my gun. That gun was trashed now and I scoffed. I shook the beast off me as I tossed the musket to the side and lifted the minigun. "Okay, guy, I'm not happy now." It obviously didn't care, so I pumped it full of bullets. It screeched, rearing back and trying to avoid my onslaught. I shook my head, and kept firing until that thing was on its back in the gravel.

"You didn't like that did ya?" I stood over it, smirking.

" _RAHHH!"_ It jumped up, muzzle on my power saddle's mask. I had teeth in my face, a tongue licking the port. It was not going to give up.

 _Boom!_ I had my revolver under its gut, and it slumped, this time dead for real. "Trusty little pistol," I deactivated the helmet of my saddle just to blow off the smoke curling from the barrel.

There came the sound of clapping, hooves stomping on the floor. I looked up to see Press up on that little ledge of a balcony. I shook my head, and as I popped the cap off a bottle of Sparkle Cola, the pony called down, "Well done friend! Get up here so we can talk!" I saved the cap and watched my AP fill as I finished off the drink. I could get used to that.

I headed into the now mostly empty Museum of Friendship. I passed the dropped bodies of raiders I'd already offed. My job here was done. I'm not sure what treasure I had found but I had a feeling I was about to find out. Pushing open the door, I smiled at the ponies in the room. "Like my hoof work?" I asked them.

Mama Madmare smiled at me like a senile bat, "My, that was inspiring wasn't it?"

"We don't have time for this," snarled the other mare in the room.

"Thanks," said Press, coming to stand next to me and survey the room. "We couldn't have done it without you fella."

I chuckled, "Glad to hear, but if that's the case you're gonna have a hard time making your way out in the big bad wasteland."

"Oh, we've made our way just fine," said Surge, "just ran out of resources there for a second."

Press patted me on the back, "I think you may be a valuable resource though, if you'd hear us out."

I rose a brow at him, giving him a sideways glance, "Is that so?"

"I can explain," he smiled and waved a hoof at me apologetically, "But once we get back to Sanctuary, okay?"

"Sure," I nodded.

"Alright my little ponies," Press addressed the room, "Let's move out." he looked me in the eye, "Care to accompany us?"

"Perhaps for a little bit," I told him, "But I do have my own things to do. I'm a solo flyer."

"I understand," Press nodded, "I think we have a little of that in all of us." he smiled at me.

We made our way to the foyer, and there Mama collapsed out of nowhere. "Oh what now," said the other mare, rolling her eyes.

Press sighed, "Hey now, we've all been through a lot."

I wandered over to the old mare. She was breathing heavily. That's when she looked up at me, owl eyes trying to focus on me, and I see the pupils dilate and contract multiple times. "I see something," she muttered almost like she wasn't speaking to me. She was looking at something past me.

"What is it?" I whispered, not quite sure what to make of her state.

"You're looking very intently for something, but you don't know what it is…" her voice was raspy and shook with each word, like it was a strain just to push them out. I saw her tongue lap against her teeth.

"I'm a treasure hunter," I told her.

"Yes, but what treasure do you seek? That is the real question my child." her eyes locked with mine, "I see now!" she gasped, eyes fluttering and rolling up.

"Are you alright there?" I asked her.

"There is a distant city, of snow and lights and wonderment." she cried out, gasping for air. "I see it now! In my mind's eye." she was staring at the ceiling, at the propellers of the old vertiherd.

"Do you now?" I was concerned, if not a little skeptical.

"I see you going there, I see lights, bright lights on big TV screens. Like billboards." she was breathing heavily, on the verge of hyperventilating. "Be wary my child," she looked back into my eyes. "In this city of diamonds you will find a false friend, and a few true friends, but it is hard to differentiate the deceivers from the rest."

For a second I was starting to believe her, believe that she could see the future and that she was telling my fortune. But then she began coughing and Press was by her side in a heartbeat, picking up something that had fallen from her pocket. "Mama, where did you get this?" it was a vial of jet, an illegal drug. I sighed, I couldn't believe I was about to trust a druggie with my future. I'd never even heard of this city of diamonds. You think I'd know.

"I know you don't trust me now," said Mama, grabbing my leg, "But check your Pip-Buck, and compare them to your Stable-Tech issued maps. You will see."

She was lifted away from me, Press helping her get to her hooves, and the other mare scoffed, "Really? Chems again Madmare? Don't you think it gets old?"

"No need to be fighting now y'all," said Press.

How had she known that? My maps were my most safeguarded possessions. Not a single soul knew they existed let alone that I carried them with me. I shook my head to clear it. It had been a long day. I followed the ponies out of the Museum…

* * *

Sanctuary was a quaint little village overlooking Conquine. It was on a hill, across a bridge and the houses sat in a circle around a nice little town square where old shops could be seen. The megaspells must've mostly missed this place, though a lot of the houses were caved in.

"This looks like a great place to set up shop," said Surge as he galloped into the mechanic's shop in the town square. I had a feeling this wasn't atypical of the stallion. He came back out with a toolbox, and he set it down next to a big yellow contraption, that looked like it was meant for securing a small pony. No, it was a power saddle station!

"You're welcome to leave your saddle here," said Press, "I'm sure it wouldn't be comfortable to wear that thing all the time."

I shook my head, "You're right it wouldn't be." I stepped up to the station, allowing the contraption to lock onto the saddle. I deactivated the controls and stepped away from it, but like a suction cup, something inside latched onto my leg. I pulled away with great force, ending up on my rump, rocking onto my back. "Oof!" I gasped. I lifted my leg. First off, there was definitely a new Pip-Buck on my leg, registered under my name as it had told me. Secondly and slightly disturbingly, a flap of skin was stuck in it, attached to some bones, hoof bones to be exact.

"Oh!" I shook my arm, letting the thing fly away from me. Must've been the previous owner's remains. He had a Pip-Buck and now it was mine.

Something in me actually checked the map on the Pip-Buck. I didn't think I'd find something, and I almost closed the device, not finding anything right away. Then I scrolled past the outline of what looked like a cutie mark. It looked like snowflakes, but almost as though they were diamonds. They just sat there on the map, all innocent like. I put the cursor over it, and it was labelled as Double Diamond City, Undiscovered. I remembered Mama had told me to cross check it with my Stable-Tech maps. Sure enough, it was listed as one of the drop sites. However it's classification level was way too high and what was listed was blanked out and labelled confidential. "I'm the Overstallion!" I snapped, "My clearance is high enough for your stupid secrets." I rolled my eyes, obviously Stable-Tech didn't have any real faith in their own staff.

Mama Madmare had sat down on a little armchair somepony had dragged out from the antique shop across the street. We had all gathered on the porch of the mechanic's shop, really just a little old house. "I told you so," Mama smiled at me from her perch. I nodded slowly and stood.

Press was examining a workbench just beside the door of the shop, but he turned to me and Mama as I passed. "Does this mean you're moving on, wastelander?"

I looked down at my newly acquired Pip-Buck, seeing a quest with Press amongst the description. But I also saw a quest with Double Diamond City listed as an objective, and an animated image of me meeting some ponies there. You didn't get much more high tech than that and it surely meant it was important. "I think, this won't be the last we see of each other," I told the chocolate colored buck, "But for now, I've gotta make my way north."

Press laughed, "Taking Mama up on her offer eh?"

"Riding the Sight," said the mare with a chuckle and a cough.

"Just be careful," Press told me as I made my way out of town.

I smirked, "I can take care of myself." I knew I could, I always had.

I checked my pistol, loaded the magnum, then holstered it and continued on my way. I was surprised by how everypony just got right to work settling down here in the little village. The mare was already hard to work setting up a farm with her brother. I noticed on my walk that the bombs must've fallen at different times. Over in Conquine, it was the Friendship Festival and decorations were denoted to Twilight and her friends; but here it was Nightmare Night. Scary decorations were everywhere: pumpkins, black cats, witches and ghouls. So some ponies must've had more time. Lucky them.

My hooves graced the bridge and I looked over my shoulder. I know they say no backwards glances. Things like that. But I wasn't looking back. I was looking forward. I had a feeling this wasn't the last I'd seen of these ponies. I did know that it would probably be a long time though. I had a lengthy journey ahead of me if I was to discover this supposed Double Diamond City.

"Well, better get going." I said to myself. I left the dust behind me.

 _(Soo, Blitzy rides the Sight hmm? Well it seems he has no problems with chems. Now where's he off to? Double Diamond City? Get it? It's Double Diamond from Our Town. Just wait for the next chapter I've got a lot in store X3_

 **Brohoof /)**


	4. Chapter 4 Words are the Weapons--

_(Note: Ready to take another trip down memory lane? We're about to see just what Nexus has in store for his stepstallion. Maybe he did it maybe he didn't. Up to you to decide. Get ready because we've got a dream sequence, and a new character!)_

 **Chapter 4** Words are the Weapons of the Terrified

Nexus Spark

 _Pre-War: 16 Years Before The Megaspells_

All I really want is something beautiful to say. It felt as though all words I had left were just weapons meant to bring pain upon everypony around me. I felt lost and broken, my heart was shattered. The room was cold as night, and even the crickets outside had gone docile. I didn't know how I was supposed to tell Blitzfire about this. I knew I shouldn't have come here. Yet here I was, and there he was.

Looking down over the wooden railings from the hall, I saw my sweet revenge. Strangely, I had no satisfaction. The dark was caving in and I just wanted to sleep. There was my stepfather, on the floor down below, in a pool of crimson death. I hadn't been able to stop it. It was all my fault. _What have I done?_

I'd skipped school for this. I had come back to my house to settle the score, and to get closure. I went to Fire Flower's room, where I brushed my hoof against her dresser, picked up the picture of her and mom, ran my horseshoe along the length of her drawing table. She'd left a drawing there, unfinished and I saw it as her final words…

"You came back boy?" I heard a voice behind me. I thought he'd ran away like the coward he is. Yet here he was, coming back to face his demons, just like I was.

"I could ask you the same thing." I turned to face him, setting down the piece of paper.

He was staring at the floorboards, unable to face his crimes. I knew what I'd come here to do though, I could face it. I lifted the revolver I'd kept hidden this entire time. I had prepared for this moment, it wasn't like I wasn't ready for it. So then why did I hesitate? I closed my eyes, "It's come to this."

He backed away, "I am sorry you know." he was quiet. His words sounded stale.

"You're a liar!" I rose my gun.

"You won't do it," said the pony who had once been my stepfather.

He was right. I was shaking all over and I felt it deep in my gut. I knew it was wrong to think I could fix this void in my heart by shooting him. It wouldn't bring Fire Flower back, just as Blitz said. But I couldn't let him know that. So I took a threatening step forward.

"How would you know what I will and won't do?" I snapped, "It's not like you ever took the time to get to know me or my sister." I narrowed my eyes at him, daring him to reflect on what he knew to be true.

His butt bumped the wall behind him. "I know you," he said, "You're kind and gentle, you wouldn't hurt a fly, certainly not your old man."

I growled, "My old man abandoned us and left us with you!" I saw him visibly gulp. Now he was backing down the hallway. "Tell me, what made you think you could hit a little girl?" I asked him. I was just shaken to my core and I could not believe what he had done and that he had had the gall to come back here. Well, no more of that. He looked me in the eye, a cold stare coming from the depths of his soul and I was able to see what lie within.

"I felt that I had power, I felt that I needed power. But I was wrong." That's when my stepfather hit the back of the railing and his eyes widened. He was yelling at me, screaming for me to stop, screaming for forgiveness. But I could never forgive what he'd done to me. To my sister. Now he'd know what it felt like. To be hurt, to be abused. A taste of his own medicine.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you're actually sorry," I had a hoof on his chin, not expecting anything. The sorry lump even had the guts to attempt an apology.

"I am sorry Nexus, for not being the father you deserved." I had had enough of his excuses. He was a liar, I could see it in his cold blue eyes. They were the depths of the ocean, the truth unreadable there. I let him go with such fierce energy that he stumbled back. My gun was in my hoof, the symbol of my family tree engraved on each side of its silver spine. I saw mini versions of my father and mother's cutie marks near their branches, the family line emblazoned even further than that. It was a nexus of connections between everypony who made up me. Just straight solid lines that trickled on down.

The staircase was just behind the pony who didn't deserve to take my real father's place. At least he'd left with purpose. It was a long complicated story. I watched my stepfather fall. He grabbed onto a vase looking for something to grab to save himself. He called my name asking me to save him but in the end he was left lying in a pool of his own blood, and glass.

A shining came then, a green energy that sparked my curiosity. I felt tears streaming down my eyes. Like a digital set of geometric interconnecting data streams, my cutie mark formed on my flank, representing my family and my deep affinity to loyalty. It was a Nexus of a green matrix shining and glowing on my hip. The green stood out against my black fur, and it made me think of computers and programming and mechanics and repair. It was me in every sense of the word. My cutie mark.

All I could think now as I tried not to cry was, how would I explain to Blitzfire what I had done? This was all my fault.

I dialed 911.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

The path to Good Neigh-Boar was treacherous and rough. On the way there my Pip-Buck informed me of radiation on my Geiger counter. I looked up into the sky and yellow lightning was flashing. The sky was ablaze with radiation from the Glowing Shades. I had a scarf in my inventory and I put it on to try to protect my skin from his much radiation as possible . Rocks crushed beneath my hooves on the lonely road. I kicked gravel and dust to the side making my way over the broken down gravel road. It was mostly dust and dirt by now after about 200 years.

"Always alone," I told myself, breathing heavily. As though on cue, a cloud passed by overhead and cast me in shadows. I sighed, letting the rain pitter patter off my fur.

Reaching the crest of the hill I overlooked the landscape before me. An old country road, where cars used to travel. I could imagine a car zooming along, going 20 over the speed limit, just because they knew they could, there were no other cars around nor cops, so why not? I know I had. Now it was empty, all for but one pony. I didn't even know why I was going where I was but nomadic was the way of a treasure hunter. A regular old Indiana Pones.

Spotting the lights of a distant town, I knew I had struck gold. Here was the road leading to the Friendship Trail. I saw markers posted by Twilight herself, pointing the way to greatness. The museum in Scollay Square had a bell tower that proved to be a landmark in this wasteland. It made me wonder if any ponies had settled here. I took one step onto the path on the side of the road and the pebbles felt warm on my hooves. They began to glow the colors of the Ministry, pointing the way forward. I wondered if I'd see any of those creepy Pinkie Pie posters, about how she's ALWAYS WATCHING. Ominous.

Hearing a noise, a ducked behind a dumpster. It sounded like hooting and hollering from some sort of party. A raider party perhaps? It couldn't be. This place was devastated, mostly debris. Nowhere to hide. Just in case, I unholstered my revolver and spun the barrel. It clicked into place, cocked. Then with one ear pricked to listen to what was behind me and one ear perked upright to listen ahead, I made my way into the wreckage of an old famous square.

* * *

 _Dong, dong, dong!_ Went the bell in the bell tower. I was walking through the gates and into Good Neigh-Boar when I heard the announcement made from somewhere nearby, "Ladies and gentlecolts, we have a delectable surprise for you this evening! Stop on by the Third Rein where you'll find Magnolia, our sweet flower in all this nasty garbage. She'll be joining us for some drinks. Carry on." The voice was coming from an upper balcony of the Stable House, the museum.

"Going somewhere?"

"Got a death wish?"

Two voices and a set of hooves barred my path into the settlement. Now these were some ugly looking fellows. Their eyes were sunken and off color, and their fur was matted. The skin showing through beneath was rough and scarred, like they'd been through the megaspells themselves. As I was eying them, I noted their weapons. One held a spiked bat and the other was reaching for a pipe pistol strapped to his leg.

"Now colts, I don't want any trouble. Just a passerby." I put up a hoof. I thought, hey no need to offend them.

The first stallion raised his bat. I raised a hoof to defend myself when out came a shot from the balcony of the Stable House. With one bullet, both bandits were down and out for the count. "My, now that's what I call killing two birds with one stone." came a chuckle from beside me.

I whinnied in a panic and to my side was a tall feline figure. He wore a plum purple felt trenchcoat lined in velvet, the collar tucked down to form a lapel. The cream colored fur of his chest plume fluffed out from over the top of the collar. It looked surprisingly soft and clean for a cat in the wastes. The coat was lined with gold colored velvet, the buttons brass and two strings hanging from the top two buttons. He had a few pockets clicked close with snapping buttons. His luminescent green eyes peered at me from under the curl of his cute blue bangs.

"Oh…" I breathed, my mouth agape in amazement. He was…I hate to say it and I allowed myself a gulp, but he was dashing, mind the horse pun.

He wore an embroidered eye patch over one eye, and I saw the traces of a scar beneath, a pink patch of flesh making a straight diagonal line. "Well," he brushed himself off, "I would say appearances are deceiving, truth be told, you look rather washed out if I do say so myself." He held out a paw, a paw if I ever saw one! Because I hadn't. Ever seen one that is.

"You saved me." I blushed and turned my face in order to hide it. I even buried my muzzle in my scarf, though the radiation storm from Broncston's Glowing Shades had passed.

"Why yes," said his rich silk voice, he took my raised hoof and shook it gracefully, "The names Capper. Capper Dapperpaws. Pleased to make your acquaintence."

"I'm Ravager Blitzfire, or just Blitz." I nodded and promptly put my hoof back on the ground, and a dust pile lifted. "What's going on around here?" I asked, trying to get ahold of myself.

"I'll tell you," he said, "over a drink." he offered a paw and I took it, letting him sweep me off my feet and down the walk. He brought me to a staircase leading under the Stable House.

I didn't believe what I saw when I got there. The entire underbarrow had been reworked and renovated into a bar. Like one of those bars seen in old westerns. I imagined the San Palomino Wasteland wasn't seeing much good old days right about now. There was a robot behind the counter, and a bouncer nodded us in. There was a mare at the bar, sitting with her rump on a stool. She was wearing a glittering red dress that looked to be made by Rarity herself. Her mane was long and straight, curling over her face enchantingly. It was black as night, and her eyes were like stars.

"Magnolia!" swept Capper, opening his arms to embrace the mare.

"Dear friend, sit!" her voice was a song.

"How's the kit?" asked the cat.

"Fine as ever." she rolled her eyes and smiled. "You know I could never repay you."

"You've repaid me enough I'm sure." Capper waved her off and tapped a paw on the counter.

A Mr. Hoofy robot came over in a bowling cap and lifted a mug and poured a glass of fine amber liquid. "All goin' well, eh Cappy?" its voice was Broncston that's for sure.

I sighed and smiled, greeting the mare, "Hey."

"Will you be having anything?" the robot turned his photoreceptors on me.

"I'll take a hard cider," I told him.

The mare in red turned to me, "And who's this?" she asked of Capper, who was sipping gingerly on the drink in his glass.

"Why, I think a friend in need if I may say so." he smiled a sly smile and I saw his sharp teeth within. Even more cute. I blushed as I pictured them biting me.

"We could use all the help we could get," the mare rolled her eyes exaggeratedly and turned to the counter with a huff.

"You see, Blitz," Capper put a paw around my shoulders, "I'm a private eye. I came here on a case, but sadly the trails gone cold."

"Or you're just going soft," came the bartender with my cider.

"How could that happen?" Capper chuckled. "Not if I keep my wits about me and I've survived worse. A cat lands on all four feet."

"Not another survivor story," I snorted.

"No! No nothin like that!" he took his arm off me. "Hey, my services come without a catch, free of charge baby, no hustle."

"Right," I nodded skeptically.

Capper slid toward me, "You're looking for something right?" his eyes were questioning and curious. Curiosity killed the cat, but I wasn't about to tell him that.

"Regular old Hancock aren't ya," I said and swigged my drink. "Listen, I fly solo. I don't really need help."

"What if I told you, I know where Double Diamond City is?" Capper smiled like a fox.

I leaned closer, "I'm listening."

"My Detective Agency is there. Home base." he smirked. He then twirled a finger through his hair, waiting expectantly.

"I suppose I'll have to take you up on your offer then."

"Look baby, I know we've all got a past. But I ain't one to judge, just help folks in need." he put a paw on my hoof, "I know you came here for a reason. Maybe you found it."

I shied away from him, "Alright, but then we go our own ways. No need to drag anypony, or any creature into anymore than I have to."

"Sounds like a deal to me. Come on, I gotta fast way out of here."

"You two go on, sounds like you've got yourself a date buddy boy," the mare eyed me with a smile and a wink, "I've got a number or two up my sleeve. Have a drink and stay awhile, because the fun has just begun." she got up and shimmied away and I swear she flicked her tail at me.

"Well she's an ordeal," I gestured as she took residence on the stage, and grabbed the mic.

"Nah, just been going through tough times. Don't we all? Her name's Magnolia, the blossom of Good Neigh-Boar."

"Never a dull moment."

The lights dimmed and a strobe light came on. Some music began playing, a stallion in a suit jacket at the piano upstage.

 _"I took a walk out in the Fawns,_

 _Had a talk with a colt about some chems,_

 _He asked me what's my flavor, I said I needed a favor,_

 _I'm short a few caps, but I'm a good, good Neigh-Boar!_

 _"The mutants stopped to savor, all my bad behavior,_

 _It's all in a day's work, when you're a good, good Neigh-Boar!"_

She lifted her hoof out of her skirts, showing off her leg and flashed a smile while the jazz solo played. "She's a good singer," I told Capper.

"Yeah, and a looker. Too bad I don't play for that team." he winked at me. He slid his drink toward me and offered it, "Take a sip of my tonic. It won't bite, much."

 _"Double Diamond City, yeah that's my thing,_

 _I flash my style, yeah I show off my bling._

 _I do the colts a favor, with all my manual labor,_

 _Yeah, it's good to be a good, good Neigh-Boar."_

It did taste good, like roses on ash. I licked my lips as I felt the cool liquid soothe my throat with its burn. "Sets the tone," he said nice and smooth, sliding his paw in like disc jockey sliding it over a disc. "Don't it?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

"If I'm getting a little help, who am I to complain?" I stated. Then I hiccupped. "Strong stuff." I smiled.

"Gets ya loose right. My favorite, but it's goin out of style."

I shrugged, "I'm sure they'll replace it with something better," I smiled at him.

"Flirting eh?" he laughed.

 _"Double Diamond City, yeah, that's my thing_

 _I flash my style, I show my bling,_

 _I do the colts a favor, with all my manual labor,_

 _It's good to be a good, good, good, good Neigh-Boar!"_

 _"Yeah, I do the colts a favor, with all my manual labor,_

 _Oh, it's good to be a good, good, good, good, good, good Neigh-Boar!_

 _Yeah…_

He put a paw on my muzzle, frowning and looking my face over. He had a gentle expression. I liked the look on his catty face. I was leaning close to him, and I was starting to close my eyes, drunk off my flank but that was ok. Then he squeezed my cheek and smiled. "Hey, lets go, I got you a room booked."

I was having somewhat of a restless night. Dreams haunted me and I kept tossing and turning, not able to sleep. My dreams were plagued with night terrors and it was about Nexus. Poor Sparky, and maybe Capper could help me find him. But that's what scared me deep inside my heart. I was broken and I took help from nopony, or creature for that matter. Yet here I was.

* * *

 _It started in the halls of our old University. Stable Tech University for the Prestige of Heart. I'd transferred here after realizing I didn't want to spend my life as a head of technology at some electricity plant producing arcana. Arcana is fine and all, but it just wasn't me. I had quit my job and moved here with Nexus in an apartment downtown. I could see it in Nexy's eyes and knew he didn't want to spend his years slaving away at office work, tip tappeting away at some old typewriter as the director mechanic in some old garage back home._

 _The old lecture hall was empty, leftover assignments on the desk, fluttering in the wind from an open window. It was dark and dusty in here and I got the chills. I didn't know what I expected to find. Stable-Tech hadn't been very clear what they'd left behind here for their old students to find in the aftermath of the megaspells. X marks the spot but all I'd found were overdue books and lost backpacks. I picked up one such textbook, reading the rental date. Due October 20th 2077._

 _I breathed, remembering that day in flashbacks. It was hard to think about when I knew what I'd done to Nexus. I'd known everything yet I'd still been willing to put him in harm's way for personal gain. I saw the Stable door, the big gear sliding to the side. The security staff grabbing us and putting as all in our own freezing pods. I shook, feeling cold._

 _That's when a gun clicked, and I felt the cold metal of a barrel press against the back of my neck. There was a sigh behind me, and I recognized that sigh. "Hey again Blitz." said Nexus._

 _I slowly turned around to see him, my long lost friend. He held the gun carefully, the old revolver with his family tree inscribed into the side, the one I usually kept strapped to my leg. How'd he get that? When I looked down and saw mine still strapped to my leg it disturbed me. Nexus was a phantom of my past, present and future and here he was, in my present._

 _"Didn't expect to see you again so soon."_

 _"What? Why, isn't that what you've been searching for?" he snarled._

 _"No. I mean, yes! I don't know Nexy, I just don't know." I looked down at my hooves._

 _He shook his head, "Figure it out soon, because you're wasting time…" he faded away and the gun fell to the tiles of the bathroom floor. I was no longer in my wasteland attire, I was wearing my old favorite sweatshirt from my first college, it's logo emblazoned on the front._

 _I was face to face with myself in the mirror. I remembered this day, the day just before my graduation. I was valedictorian and I was rehearsing my speech. "Friendship, friendship never changes. I have my best friend from foalhood here right next to me to prove that to you. Though war is raging through Equestria now, I know we will pave way for a more Stable future. I want to announce my plans for the future. I know my path that I have chosen doesn't feel right. I never wanted to be a electrician. But I do know what I want to do instead. I want to lead us into a brighter future. I want to become an Overseer by studying hard at Stable-University!" queue hat throwing._

 _What a load of junk. I never even graduated from Stable-Tech University, though they did throw me a new Stable like I was the winner on some game show. Here's the keys to a fancy new Stable. Pave way for a more stable future. Oh it's stable alright. Was that why Nexus hated me? No. I was here staring at my reflection for a reason. This was me. Nexus was a part of me. I knew what I needed to do._

* * *

Sunlight paved a path through the blinds covering the dirty windows. I yawned and stretched, lifting myself from the sleeping bag. The door was open and I saw lantern light from the hallway. In came a maid, her face a grotesque mask and her horn stubby and ingrown. If I looked a wreck she looked as though she'd walked through hell with a smile.

She set a tray of food in front of me. "Breakfast in bed?" I picked up some hash browns served with a side of hay.

"Finest service in the Stable House," she nodded politely and made her exit.

In came Capper, his trenchcoat flapping like a cape. "Morning sunshine!" He winked and swiped a fry from my tray. "I came here to bet you're ready to get on your hooves?"

I got up from the floor, not feeling hungry. "Sure thing," I winked but his back was turned, tail swaying. It had a white tip.

We headed downstairs and outside. "I hope you slept well," he told me. "First thing's first. I gotta stock up. Over to Sky Daisy's." he gestured and I followed him over to one of the shops in the stable yard. Inside a mare wearing an old timey dress sat inside, organizing some things on a shelf.

"Morning," she said quietly. I thought I saw stumps hiding under that dress on her back, but I wasn't sure.

"Morning, got any provisions for a good tomcat?" Capper leaned over the counter, smiling at her. "Some guns and ammo perhaps?"

"Oh my. Well I guess I can see what I've got, but you may wanna check next door for that dear." she grabbed a keychain and headed over to the cash register. Then she leaned down. Definitely bumps on her back. She opened a case and pulled out a set of mini uzi's.

"How niiiiice." Capper licked his lips. Then he set down a sack of caps and Daisy smiled. "Why thank you." she said and we left the shop.

"Time to skip town," said the cat with a hip wiggle.

The road was dusty and cracked. I walked beside the cat who seemed quiet. He looked to be lost in thought. The sky was clear and I closed my eyes. "I had a bad dream last night."

"Oh yeah? Most tomcats do when they've got a lot on their mind." he opened his satchel, "Here, try this, helps me sleep." he pulled out a medicinal needle.

"Med-X?" I rose a brow with a questioning look.

"Even better my friend," he swept around me and tossed the needle which I caught with one swipe. "Med-X Plus. It eases pain and helps ya sleep. Though sadly it doesn't ease the pain of the soul." he shrugged.

"Doesn't bother me." I put it in my saddle bag. Hey, aid's aid. Even from a cat.

"Used to be a con artist you know. Back in the good old days of New Pegasus. Meh, not a savory town." he shuddered.

 _Blam, blam, blam!_ There was gunfire three doors down. "Grenade out!" came a yell from the next block. "Tom!" somepony else yelled. "Jerry!"

"Colt, what's going on?" Capper looked up toward the sky. There was a big black mass, a vertiherd. "Steel Rangers? Makes our day a little more interesting."

We snuck down the alley, and he put his paws on the corner of the building. I ducked out next to him and we peered upon the scene on the square. Ponies dressed in dark black painted power saddling were doing battle with fiends on the other side of the lot, ponies in combat armor. I'd dealt with these guys before and they meant business. But what were they doing all the way out in the Fawns?

"They're called Gun Gallopers." I pointed to the combat armor clad ponies. Capper nodded.

"Ah, know these folks?"

"You could say that."

"Private, use this, take em out!" came the voice of one of the Gun Galloper commanders. Meanwhile, the Steel Rangers were enacting a plan of their own. "Hold this down Scribe, time to bring out the big guns."

"They're setting up artillery."

"Fancy," said Capper.

Each team shot their explosives at the same time, and there was a huge fireball. Smoke filled the air but I didn't have time to find out who'd won because at just that moment somepony snatched me from behind. Their hoof was cold as ice and their voice came from a speaker. "Civilian, it isn't safe here."

I spun around and immediately drew my gun, "I'll decide what's safe or not." I told her.

"Feisty," Capper pointed two claws at me in the gun shape. "I like it."

"Good, then perhaps you two can help us?" asked the mare.

"For what price?" I announced. A notification appeared on my EFS, CHARISMA +1

"Give or take a few caps. What say you?" said the mare.

"Sounds like a deal," Capper snapped his fingers. "You're on."

The mare brayed and nodded, "Great! My name is Paladin Sandy Shore. Welcome aboard, for the moment." she lowered her helmet. "Got guns?"

I rose a brow, offended, "You think I don't travel the wasteland in style? Of course I do." I showed off my armory.

"Alright, come here." she led us into a small building, where a couple members of the Rangers were busily looking over battle plans and discussing strategies. "We've been having conflicts with the Gun Gallopers in this area for some time." she explained as she led us through the makeshift compound. "As some of our Scribes have pointed out, these enemies haven't travelled through the Back Bray before and there's no reason to start now."

We entered what looked like a command center, where another armored stallion was reading intently over some maps and documents, his suit lamp activated. "Ah, Paladin," he looked up at us, "thanks for answering my radio. Who are these two?"

"Picked them up in the alley, spying on our battle, but now they're here to help."

"I see they're packing guns," he noted, looking us over. "Do you know why I called you?"

"No sir, enlighten me." she told him.

He shuffled some papers and slid the map toward us. "An initiate discovered one of their camps on the edge of the Bray and inside the Fawns."

"Oof, now there's a problem their chief," said Capper with a raised claw. "That's a bit of a detour for me and my buddy here."

The commander put a hoof to his chin. "Where you two heading?"

"Double Diamond City." said Capper and I at the same. We gave each other a look and I saw him blush now. He blushed pink, like his cute nose.

"Mer~" I huffed.

"Never been there," said Sandy, "though I'm sure I'd like to."

"We don't have much time for that," said Commander Brighthooves.

"Neither do I, so what's in it for us?" I asked the pair. Had to be worth it to go so far out of my way for these medieval clad freaks. I'd never heard of the Steel Rangers before and I was getting tired of the horseplay.

Sandy took out a bag of caps, "How about say 200 caps? For your pockets?"

Brighthooves jumped up, "Sandy! You can't go offering funds! Who's gonna pay for this? The Treasury?"

"No, it's coming straight from me. Besides, I think a scammer likes his money. 100 each, how about it?"

"Scammer?" Capper brushed off his lapel, dusty, "Now that's a bit harsh hun, dontcha think?"

"Not at all. Pick your poison now because we're running out of time." as if on cue there came a huge explosion that rocked the building to its core.

"I think we just found out what it's like to be a worm in an apple," I said.

"Conference," said Capper and pulled on my vest. We went to the hall. "I don't know, big fella, 100 caps sounds nice right about now. I'm up for a small job if you are."

"Seems like a big job to me if the Steel Rangers are asking for a couple of street rats."

"Hey! I eat rats for breakfast," Capper smiled and flashed his fangs at me.

"I like your style." I winked. He leaned in as though to whisper in my ear, but instead he gave me a fast peck on the cheek. I melted, "Faust," I breathed and felt all wiggly.

"We'll do it!" with gusto Capper burst into the room.

"Wonderful!" the commander looked straight at Sandy, "Get them on a vertiherd immediately."

 _(OMG! Blitz meets Capper huh? From My Little Pony the Movie. It seemed so perfect because a lot of the locations in that movie seem so apocalyptic. Also Capper is kinda hot. Well he's along for the ride so sit back and relax! It's good to be a good good Neigh-Boar. (Look that up on Google, that's a song from Fallout 4, as this story is based.)_

 _So, looks like they're off to help the Steel Rangers. This is gonna get interesting. Guess they'll need to put off DDC for a bit though. But they've got an adventure on their hooves and I'd love to see some action between these two. It's good to set up a new dynamic, it'd suck if Blitzy was alone the entire time. Alright, see you next time! Love ya!_

 **Brohoof! /)**


	5. Chapter 5 I'm The Friend You Need

_(Note: I brought back DJ Pon3! Whoot whoot! Bringing back the good ol' days. Not to mention Capper's song partway through this. If you haven't seen My Little Pony the Movie, I highly recommend it, it's where this sly cat comes from. I love him omg. Plus, he and Blitzy work well in combat together, don't they. Hehe.)_

 **Chapter 5** I'm The Friend You Need

The bird lifted off the platform on the roof of the station. The sky came up to greet us and I saw the ground far below. The city blocks were little squares out the window. There was only one other time in my life I'd seen a view like this, on my way to Stable 14. It was a bad memory I'd rather suppress.

"Now, listen up, the Back Bray is a bit messy. Mutants running amuck, radiation everywhere. It's nothin like the Fawns."

"I imagine," I said.

"Some even say there's synthetic beasts down there," said the copilot.

"Pish posh," Capper waved a paw in dismissal. "Never heard of a single one."

"Oh yeah?" I shouldered him, "then what about Magnolia's kit?"

"Oh…yeah, that…" Capper rubbed his arm. "Look, I don't believe in all them fairytales. Thems just tall tales told to little kids to scare em into behaving in Double Diamond City."

"For sure," the pilot laughed.

"Hey, who's up for some music on this flight? Gotta couple hours till we're in the Bray anyway." said the copilot and without waiting to hear a response she turned on Galaxy News Radio.

" _IIIIIIIII'm back good ol' ponies of this nasty nasty wasteland. Hear tell word on the street is that Capper's Detective Agency has struck a cold case. Tomcat can't seem to find where the Institute misplaced their synth. He was last seen following a lead over in Good Neigh-Boar. Place just gives me the chills to my bones! Wouldn't be caught dead there, or alive for that matter! Now, how about some more hits! Let's put on some tunes from Magnolia for good ol' times. Keep up the good fight! DJ Pon3 with more hits! Awoooooo!"_

On came a song we'd just heard in the Third Rein. Magnolia's voice came drifting through the speakers. It was good to be a good Good Neigh-Boar wasn't it? Not too picky, as long as I'm lucky. _Dapperpaws indeed,_ I caught myself thinking.

Touching down, the dirt kicked up. "Bottoms up!" the copilot tapped her hoof on my helmet.

We hopped out, touching the asphalt and listening to the propellers die down. Capper was beside me, "Hey y'all, I don't know about you, but I say this is a party." Capper pointed at the bunker we'd landed in front of. A Galloper wearing a commander's cap walked up to meet us.

"Hey boys!" he chuckled, waving a submachine gun. "Look, drop the act. I think we should work this out, eh?"

I eyed him angrily, "I don't think we have anything to work out."

"You have encroached on Steel Ranger territory," called Sandy. "Call off your men and nopony gets hurt." her voice was over the loud speakers of the vertiherd.

"Boys," yelled the commander, barking orders, "you know what to do." Out came a small brunt carrying a missile launcher a bit too large for his scrawny shoulders. He lifted it and aimed, and out popped a missile, crashing straight into the bird. It exploded in fiery inferno. "Listen up folks! We've got you surrounded and there's no way out. You got two options, surrender or die."

"Nice pep talk, I can see why they got them boys so darn organized," Capper meowed.

"Not as organized as us," said Sandy with a snare. "Fan out," she snapped. Gun toting Rangers spanned the range of the parking lot, taking cover behind old transport vehicles and rotted out husks of tanks.

"Came prepared, eh? I like it." the commander nodded to his ponies. Firefight ensued. I lifted my revolver and took cover behind a car, Capper following quickly behind.

"You'd think they'd wanna chit chat," said the cat. "I like this much better." we jumped out, back to back and began firing. He carried a 10 mil, and I saw him tap a claw on a radio on his waist.

 _Lay that pistol down, babe._

 _Lay that pistol down._

 _Pistol packin mama,_

 _Lay that pistol down!_

"Nice taste," I smiled and then side to side we went straight into the fray. He raised his claws and bared his teeth. I saw he was wearing brass knuckles. Sexy.

I must've said it out loud because he looked back at me with a sly glance, "Thanks, not too bad yo'self."

Faust he could really make a colt blush. These guys weren't messing around though. I could say that I was having a bit too much fun here. I bit my lip. That's when a bullet grazed me. "Gettin' distracted?" Capper eyed me, and I lifted a leg. "I'll say," I shook my head.

I stuck myself with a stempack, and felt myself regenerate. "I gotta get me one of those," said Capper.

"Don't already have some?" I asked, looking up without raising my chin. "Every good wastelander does."

"You've gotta show me your stash," Capper wiggled his brows.

"I think I will, later," I said. "First, we've got business to attend to."

"Mrrrrow!" Capper went out hissing and slashing. A few ponies went down but they only got right back up. I took em out quick with a couple buck shots from my pistol.

"What are you dumbasses doing?!" yelled the Galloper Commander.

"Wiping your dumbass out," I said, my gun to his head.

"W-wait, wait, wait!" he cried out, I think I even saw a tear, "We can work this out, see…?"

"No, we can't. Gonna call off your ponies?"

"S-sure!" he gasped. He lifted a radio from his belt, "Call it off, we don't need it."

I had been about to shoot him but, "Wait, don't need what?" that's when he bucked me in the balls and in the shock I pulled the trigger. Off went the lights.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Pre-War: 16 Years Before The Megaspells_

Friends will be friends and colts will be colts. When it was dark out I'd take his hoof and sit with him in the veil, even if the sun would never come up. Yet here he was, trying to go it out alone. I didn't understand why he wouldn't let me hold him. It hurt me to see him like this.

A white candle was lit and burning its powerful incense across the room. It smelled of vanilla, I'd helped him pick out at a candle shop in town. He had also drawn a pentagram using black salt. Where he'd gotten that, he wouldn't say. Hopefully not a zebra, that would be highly illegal. I sighed. He was also burning some herbs, lavender I believe by the smell of it, but it was strong and didn't smell good.

"What's gotten into you?" I asked him. "This stuff, it's for evil unicorn magic, not you." I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. I held it, waiting for him to respond.

Ignoring me he started an incantation, " _Blood of my blood, spirit I love, Come from below as I call from above."_

I went to him, shaking him on the shoulder, "I want to talk to my friend, please." he gave me a withering look, and I could feel the heat and pain in his heart from here.

"Look, Blitz, it's not evil magic, it's White Magic. I'd never do anything bad."

"Where'd you get the salt? The herbs?" I poked at it.

He yelled, "Don't mess up the circle!" he began busily putting the salt back into place. "Whew." he whistled. Then he locked eyes with me, "Blitzy, I'm only trying to see my sister one last time, is that too much to ask?"

"I don't know if magic works like that," I said, "That's all I can say. But I'm not talking you out of it are I?"

He poked his horn and smirked, "Probably not, but best of luck old pal." then he began chanting again, "Hear these words, hear my cry, Spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee, Cross now the Great Divide."

A warm breeze blew and suddenly the candle went out. Nexus' horn began to glow a bright green. I'd never seen just the tip glow before. "No, not again!" he opened his eyes, glowing a neon shade too. Then the magic faded and the lamp on my desk flickered back into life. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

"Seeing her right now…I think it's too much. It keeps her alive but she's dead Nexy, come on! You have to move on, trust me."

"I can't move on! I just can't. She was too young." he fell into my arms and I traced a horseshoe along his back. He was warm, and alive and sad. So sad. He shook beneath me and I felt I was gonna cry too.

"Her funeral is tomorrow. Are you gonna be able to go?" I asked him.

"My horn hurts."

I rolled my eyes but smiled. "You've been doing magic all night." I told my friend, "It's 12 in the morning."

"Rub it for me?" he gave me puppydog eyes. Cute.

I grabbed his hoof, "Come to bed first, k?"

"Sure."

In bed I tinderly rubbed his horn. I was an Earth pony so I would never know what it felt like, but I heard it was quite sensitive. He moaned and sighed, shuddering as I pet him. I hoped I was making him feel good. "What's got you into witchcraft anyway Sparky?" I asked him in a whisper.

"Friend at school," he sighed and rolled over, wrapping a hoof around me and hugging me close.

"And the salt?"

"Magic shop, they're all over buddy." he laughed.

"I wouldn't know, I don't got a horn." I pressed my muzzle to his forehead. He was soft, and I enjoyed spending my nights with him. I wondered what would happen now that he had no family. I hoped he wouldn't have to go away to foster care or something. I rather liked having him here. What would mom say if I asked her if he could live with us. Like a brother…

Nexus was snoring. I don't think I would miss that! It kept me awake all night. I yawned and crawled out of bed. With one hoof I scooped the salt up and slid it back into the plastic baggie Nexus poured it from. I put the candle on my desk and threw the burnt lavender away. It was all so creepy but I knew I could support him. I just didn't think he should be summoning the dead, that was all. Let sleeping dogs lie and whatnot.

I snuggled back into bed with my best friend, making him the little spoon. "Sleep tight." I said and drifted off.

* * *

 _Present Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

"Can't believe we gotta make a whole 'nother journey across the Fawns." I snarled as me and Capper trudged down a dirty back street.

"I think it'll be fun." said the kitty in his smooth tones. "Get to know each other just that much more," he made an O with his paw.

"Sounds like a plan." I shrugged. Looking up at the sky I saw the first twinkling of stars peeking through the clouds. "You getting tired?"

"Perhaps," he stretched, "but I do think I like takin' evening strolls." he put his paws in his pockets.

"There's one thing I know about you," I laughed.

He tilted his head, "Yeah? And what about you colt, what you got up your sleeve?" I think he knew I liked that smile.

"I'm not too sure yet," I looked away from him, "don't think I've got that part down."

"Well, can ya tell me whatcha looking for over in Double Diamond?"

"Ooh," I closed my eyes and stopped walking, "I don't think I've got that part down just yet."

"Hey, don't be like that baby," Capper sidled over to me, his coat brushing my side. "You don't gotta tell me what's got you down. Why don't we set up camp?"

"Sounds like a good idea," I said. I opened my eyes and there he was right in front of me. Nexus! I could've sworn I saw him…but he was gone again. I sat on my haunches. Meanwhile Capper was busily working on a tent. It was coming along nicely that was for sure. He made it using his coat, and it was rather large when he spread it out. But he was now shirtless, his pants a black puffy tunic with a white belt and gold buckle. His chest was a lighter cream compared to the rest of his orange, and it had plumes of white. His pecs were well sculpted too. I breathed.

Getting up, I went over to the tent. He raised a paw, "Ah ah ah," said Capper, and with a swipe of his paw he dropped two pillows and a sleeping bag inside the tent.

"Single bed?" I rose a brow.

"Don't like it?" he rose another paw.

"It's fine." I said. Then slowly inching a hoof over to his side, I slowly drew him to me.

"Oh?" he purred, I could feel the vibration in his body.

I rolled him over, and he went in for the kiss first. His face was soft against mine, his pink nose wet. I used my lips to work his on mine hearing him purr against me as his chest pressed against me. That's when I felt his teeth on me and he parted my lips. "Unh," I gasped as his tongue snaked its way into my mouth. Our tongues met in a dance. Putting a hoof on his neck, I pet him softly, feeling the fur on his cheeks. He shuddered.

I pulled away suddenly, "I um…" I was breathy, my chest huffing up and down, "I don't think we should be doing this. Not right now."

"That's alright babe, tell me what you want to do."

"Just…hold me if that's alright."

"Sure."

The alleys were crumbling to dust and wood beams were strewn across the street. Signs pointed the direction to the old hollow where Our Town used to sit. Now it was a big baseball arena surrounded by small village huts. But what couldn't be said for its exterior could be said for its internal affairs. The outside was a makeshift warzone, and criminals ran about through the dim and gloom. There was gunfire, and I imagined it was the guards keeping out the street rats.

Shambling up to the front gates, two guards stopped us with batons and bats. "Lookin' for trouble pal?" asked a grunt.

"Or just a hotdog?" the other one laughed and scratched at his 5 o'clock shadow.

"Look, you know me, just let me in will ya?" a red pony wearing a scarf and a newsboy cap was pawing at an intercom system.

" _No means no, Piper,"_ came the voice on the other side, " _We've got enough problems man, can't spread your ramble here about the Institute and all that."_

"Diamond, you're one of my best friends, but you're killin' me smalls." She huffed and threw her cap to the ground, stomping it into the dirt of the parking lot.

"What's her deal?" I asked.

"Aw, she's just gotta case of the blues," said Capper as he moved toward a bench inside the main entryway.

I wandered over to the mare, "What's up?"

Piper's eyes lit up, "Oh, just what I needed! Listen fella, seems I'm in a bit of a scramble. See, this here scrub won't let me past the goons, and I gotta story to put on the press."

I sighed, then grinned, "Another reporter huh?"

"What, you know one?" she narrowed her eyes, then smiled back at me. Popping in a piece of gum from a saddle bag she said, "Eh, tell ya what, you help me, I help you. Whattaya say?"

"Sounds like a deal," I shrugged.

"You just gotta make your way up to the mayor's office in the booth and convince him to let me in. Give em this for me will ya?" she blew a bubble then handed me a flyer.

"Where'd you get this?" I eyed it. It depicted a normal looking pony but one half was a diagram of mechanics and robotics I didn't understand, all jam packed into one ponie's flank.

"I got my sources," she said behind a hoof, looking around in case anypony had heard her.

I trotted over to my feline pal, "Capper, whatcha think of this?"

"Well, well, whattaya we got here? Let's take a looksie." he grabbed it and pulled out a monocle I have no idea he'd been carrying. I rose a hoof to ask but he put it away and looked up, "Damsel wants you to get this to the mayor?" he asked me.

"Seems like it."

"Thumbs up…" he stuck up his claws then frowned and put his paws down, "…hooves up to her. I got some friends that could get us in." he gave me the flyer back. "Come on."

We headed over to the ticket booth where a guard was busily puffing away on a cigar. He lifted his cap and eyeballed us. "Whattaya you two want?"

"Listen buddy, the pony's with me. We're on a case."

"Oh yeah? Who's the missing link?" asked the bouncer.

"Not much to tell, just that a filly might be in trouble. Had to check some files at the office." Capper licked his lips.

"Alright. Stand back." the pony sat up and looked around before pressing a button. A buzz went off and a grating sound alerted us to the doors sliding open. "Welcome to Double Diamond City. Try not to bite off more than you can chew if you get my meaning."

"Works every time," Capper whispered to me behind a paw before taking off.

* * *

"Perkins, friend, I'm home!" Capper swept into the room with a flurry. Sitting behind a desk, tapping away at a typewriter with talons was a birdlike female.

"You brought guests?" she rose a brow.

"Whoa, what in Equestria?" I circled around to the other side of the desk to see she was part bird part pony.

"Yeah, Equestria's full of more creatures than just ponies my friend," Capper said to me behind a paw.

"I can see that," I looked him up and down and thought about the other night.

"Yeah, I'm a hippogriff," she sighed and put her face in one of her…hands. "What's the case Cap?" she asked him.

"Well Celaeno, Piper's stuck outside."

"Oh, I see," she nodded, rubbing her beak before setting her talon back down on the wood beamed floor. "Diamond's finally had enough of her?"

"If I had a cap," Capper grinned. Then he pulled the flyer out with some flourish. "Lookie here," he pointed, "she's trying to bring down the Institute! Of all the things." he snickered to himself.

"You brought down the Storm King." Perkins pointed out.

"Now now y'all, that's just a story. You know your grams is a bit—" Capper tapped his head and wiggled his eyes.

"That's what they tell me. Whattaya need big cat."

"Ooh, I love when you call me that. Gives me chills." he licked his lips. "Alright. Pull out the city files, I gotta cash in some favors. I'm going to pack up. Be a doll?" grinning he slipped off up the rickety looking attic styled staircase.

"Don't worry," said Perkins as she turned to the filing cabinets, "he's always like this."

I bit my lip to keep myself from saying something embarrassing. Sheesh, I've never been like this. I didn't know why he had me so captivated. Not to mention the bird lady. That was a bit confusing. I wouldn't doubt the radiation from arcana burst would mutate a cat into a walking talking intelligent being, but how did the front half of a pony become a bird? We didn't have a lick of avian DNA in us.

"Mind me asking how you're…ya know," I lifted a hoof to indicate all of her.

"Call it what you will. Radiation, birth defect. I've heard it all." she didn't even turn to look at me or ruffle her skirt as she pulled out paper after paper.

"No no, I think it's rather…compelling." I accidentally bit my tongue and choked. Was I calling her—

"Beautiful?" she turned and lifted a brow at me in question.

"No, just compelling. I'm kinda into somepony else."

"I see," she gave me a skeptical look and I was starting to think she normally scowled. She hadn't smiled once since we'd been here.

"You seem like a downer." I sniffed.

She cracked a smile, "Now you're at it! Don't worry, I only skipped my morning brandy."

"Brandy, right." I pursed my lips to the side. The cat slipped from the shadows with a handbag at his side. "Oh there you are."

"Yes, here I am." he spread his arms eagle, then adjusted his lapels.

"Um, Cap," Perkins pointed with a talon, "You got a thread."

"Oh crap. I'm gonna run outta this stuff. The Minister didn't do me justice when she told me it'd survive an apocalypse." he snatched a spindle of half depleted rainbow thread with a needle stuck through it and popped it in the bag.

"Minister?" I gave him a questioning look.

"Ya know," he gave me a rather uncomfortable smile and coughed. "Come on, off into the shadows, can't face the creeps alone." he patted me on the back and sauntered out the door.

"See ya," I waved to Perkins.

"Yeah yeah," she rolled her eyes then popped a couple ice cubes in a glass.

* * *

Snow frosted the ground over in the old stadium. Seeing as it probably hadn't snowed in centuries I wondered how exactly this came to be. Why hadn't it melted in the heat of constant radiation storms? Was DDC somehow protected? I seriously doubted it. These bozos seemed even more immature than the thugs in Good Neigh-Boar and I didn't think their technology would reflect it.

Guards stood in front of the mayor's lift, blocking the way. Capper sidled up to them, saluting, "Heya fellas. I'm here to cash in a couple favors."

"Oh yeah?" one reached for his police baton, "I don't think so Dapperpaws. The mayor doesn't want to see you."

"Why the long face? I ain't done nopony no wrong." Capper crossed his arms.

I flung some snow out of my horseshoe, "Hey what's the hold up?"

"Newcomer eh? Well I got news for you bub," he poked me with his stick, "Ain't nopony gets ta see the mayor ya hear?"

"Why? He got a stick up his plot?" I snorted.

The second guard towered over me, "You say that again, to my face."

"Listen," Capper drew in a breath and held up his paws, slinking back, "we don't want no trouble now. We just had a question for the old pal."

"He ain't takin' no visitors and that's final." he shoved Capper and the cat fell on his ass in the snow. His tail flicked and he looked about to start something but then he stood with his paws up.

"Hey, I'll come back at a better time. When ya think that'll be again?" he asked.

"Maybe if Brooke would get his flank back to work, we'd consider it. But unfortunately for you, he's got himself caught up at the taphouse."

"Is that right?" Capper stroked his whiskers. "I think I'll be seeing you fellas around. Come on Blitz, it looks like we're not wanted here."

"But—" I started.

He slid up next to me and whispered in my ear, "Listen slick, I said we're not wanted here."

"Oh! Right!" I coughed, "Won't be causing no trouble," I tried a Broncston accent, quite unsuccessfully.

My hooves crunched through the dunes of snow as we went down the carved path. It was mostly icey and I noticed this place was on the edge of some tall mountains. At the top of the ski lift that led there I noticed a marker on my compass signifying it was an undiscovered location. I knew what this meant, that I would need to cross reference my Stable-Tech maps with my Pip-Buck maps and see what was up. While I went over all this, Capper led us to the Cavesson Taphouse.

We threw open the doors and went to sit ourselves at the bar. It was a shady corner, one where Capper could easily cover me as I looked over my documents. There was something up in that cave that nopony wanted me to know about. The documents listed it as VOID and classified and on the map is was only shown as Broncston Commons, UNDISCOVERED. But something was up there and I was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Can it Chef, this is between me and my wife." came an interruption from a few stools over. A blue pony in a tan jacket was arguing with the bartender.

"Cool it Brooke, why do you always have to make a scene," said a mare who was just taking her seat. "Pour me another drink, won't you Chef?"

"Dammit, Darcy, I just want you to come home," Brooke complained to his girl.

"I will, later."

Brooke stamped a hoof, "I can't believe you'd do this to me Chef."

Chef smiled with a taunting look, "Do what to you, Brooke?"

"You smug bastard," Brooke snarled, "You better keep away from my wife, or sisters help me!"

Chef continued to nonchalantly polish beer mugs, "You should get out of here, before you do something stupid."

That's when Brooke yelled out a slur and ran for the bartender, who'd just come out from behind the counter to kick the stallion out. But Brooke lunged and began punching Chef. Darcy yelled for Chef not to hurt the stallion but instead he fought back, taking a swing. Brooke was sent flying to the ground, and when he got up he shot an angry glance at his wife, and muttered something about their colt. Then he walked out the door.

I glanced up, "Sheesh, I can't get any work done around here." I grumbled.

"Got a lead, my amigo?" Capper put a paw around my shoulder but I shied away. Only I could see what secrets Stable-Tech kept hidden.

"Sorry you had to see that." Chef was sliding back behind the counter, now addressing us. "Perfect place to drink, if you're buying." he smiled.

"No thanks, just need some peace and quiet." I told him, gathering up my papers.

"What, eh, was that argument about?" asked the cat.

Chef crossed his hooves for a moment, "Nothing much. Just that Darcy likes to come here to relax from time to time and Brooke doesn't care for it. I know he's not a bad stallion, just a little uptight. Too bad he can't learn to relax, eh Darcy?" he shot her a look.

"Oh shut up, I don't come here to talk about my husband." she glanced at me, "You there. I haven't seen you in here before. Why don't you make yourself useful and…say buy me a drink or something?"

I shot up, "Excuse me? You don't look like you need another drink. Stumbling around like the city beggar." I had finished stuffing my papers into my saddle bags once again and she was lucky she was a mare or I'd have beaten her senseless.

"Come on now, Blitzfire," Capper had come to massage my shoulders. "Why don't we find ourselves a quieter place to follow a lead?" he may have been implying something else, I wasn't sure. I just knew I needed a drink, and not from here.

* * *

"Takahashi's Noodle Stand," Capper fluffed at his lapel and went to sit down, "where the food is great and the robot doesn't speak a word of Ponish." the cat was right, the big hunk of metal turned to me to ask a question about what I wanted to eat, but all that came out was gibberish.

"Are his translators fried?" I asked.

"All that time around cooking grease gets to you, don't ya think?" Capper whispered behind a paw to me.

"Hey!" came a voice. It was Brooke, trotting up to us from the Stands. "Hey uh, sorry about what you saw in there."

"Your wife's a bigger bitch than a dog in heat," said I with a grimace.

"I got a question for you," said Brooke. I nodded and he continued, "You were there in the Taphouse, when um…"

"When Chef kicked your ass?" I lifted an eyebrow.

"Yeah well you can't blame a colt. I'm supposed to pretend he's not sleeping with my wife, but I know better."

"Looks like you need a friend," said Capper, "and you know what?" he pointed at the robot and a soft tune picked up from its speakers.

 _This town is not a nice place, for stallions on their own,_

 _There are lots of twists and corners, that could lead to the unknown…_

Capper put a paw around the stallion's shoulders and leading the two of us, we went down the back alleys. It was dark and creepy here, and even the silhouettes of the guards were ominous.

 _You need a bud to spot the danger, a pal to stop the creep,_

 _A chum and not a stranger to assist!_

 _You need a bro who is cunning, that can help you take the leap,_

 _A friend who knows what's lying in the mist._

We were nearing the luminous sign blinking on and off, a heart with a cat chasing a mouse in its center, Capper's Detective Agency. The sign blinked off and we were covered in darkness. And when it suddenly came back on, I saw that Brooke was smiling and Capper was still singing.

 _'Cause I'm the friend you need, when you're lost and don't know what to do,_

 _I'm your pal, your amigo, looking out for friends like you,_

 _And my help, you'll concede, is a plus guaranteed…_

 _'Cause I'm the friend you need!_

"He's a friend," Brooke told me behind a hoof.

"Quite the friend," Capper interjected.

I rolled my eyes, "He's a friend indeed."

Capper opened the door to his office and went to pour a couple drinks. "That's my marketing campaign right there mi amigos." he grinned a toothy grin at us. "Before the Mane 6, I used it to con my way through life."

"Didn't getcha very far," said Perkins.

Capper pouted, "Hey, I'm way past those days. Selling out to shortstop and tyrants. You know me!"

"You did what now?" My eyes were wide at this new information.

"Yeah, back in the day he was a con artist," Perkins explained, "He almost sold out the Mane 6!"

I grabbed my drink from Capper and spread my pamphlets and maps before me. I was flicking through the map on the Pip-Buck, trying to make heads or tails of it. I thought back to what Mama Madmare had said to me, about checking these maps and cross referencing them, and I think I was finally beginning to get it. They had a big secret down here, and I think it was up to me to figure out what it was.

"Listen fellas, I'm not gonna just sit here and let Chef steal my wife and destroy my family." said Brooke, sipping heavily at his drink. Jeez! "I want you guys to go back with me. I don't want to hurt him, just want him to leave Darcy alone."

Capper slinked over the counter in that sly cat way of his, tail twirling, "What's in it for us, buddy? I don't work for free now."

"I only have 80 caps right now, but I can scrape together more later." he had a wary look in his eyes and he just looked like a tired old stallion.

"Look, if it means I can get back to work, fine," I told him. "Also, I work alone."

"But with me by your side, eh slick?" said Capper.

"I think I need a break for a bit Capper. I have a lot on my mind."

"Oh, friend zoned by the bitter stallion," Perkins was laughing.

I got up and left my things in a haste. "Don't wait up, you'll know when I'm back." with that I shot through the door.

Quest added

DOUBLE DIAMOND BLUES

* * *

The Taphouse seemed empty at this time in the evening, and when I walked in, I saw Chef having a conversation with another stallion. "I'll meet you there, and don't be late."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be there. I just have to close up." Chef grumbled. The stallion walked away and Chef looked up at me.

"Can I talk to you, Chef?" I snapped.

"Is there some sort of problem?" he asked me with that smug smile of his. Now I could see why Brooke hated him so much, and I just needed to let some of my anger out.

"Are you sleeping with Brooke's wife?" I put a hoof on the table, serious.

"I don't see what business it is of yours who I'm sleeping with." Chef shot back.

I narrowed my eyes and he narrowed his, "Look, I'm asking nicely. What's it gonna be?"

Chef chuckled, then gained a serious look about himself, "I'm asking you "nicely" to turn back around and go ask Brooke to come talk to me himself."

I lifted my revolver, "Oh look, three bullets. I'll count to three then, one…two…"

Chef held up his hooves in surrender, "Hold on now, don't go crazy on me, we can work something out. I didn't plan for any of this to happen. She's just always hanging around here. Tell Brooke it's over, I promise."

"That's all you've got to offer?" I lifted a brow and huffed a sigh.

"You're right. I have an idea. Let's kill two birds with one stone shall we? I have some other businesses on the side. One is helping that fellow you just saw, Lay Time, spend his father's money to help him feel like a gangster. The point is, me and him are meeting some gentlecolts from Good Neigh-Boar to exchange caps for chems. My plan is simple, we take the money, and the chems."

I was brushing some dust off the barrel of the gun, "I don't know, it sounds like a huge risk."

"The meeting is always in the same place, and the same number of stallions. They'll never know what hit them if you're packing what I think you are."

"I promise, you won't regret this." Chef smiled and nodded. If he expected me to shake hooves, he was sorely mistaken. I got up, grabbed a bottle of booze and left the room.

Maybe I was bitter, but it would be nice to get just a little bit of work done. Now I found myself back at the noodle stand waiting for Chef, surrounded by a bunch of security ponies. I had a bowl of soup and a bottle of expensive chardonnay and I was flicking through my pamphlets when I got a tap on the shoulder. "Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Chef led us out of Double Diamond City, where just outside of town, along a side street out of DDC limits, Lay Time and a group of ghouls from Good Neigh-Boar were discussing business. I went right up to them, pistol drawn and Lay Time turned to me, "What the hell are you doing here? Chef who's this?"

I smiled, feeling a rush of satisfaction, "I'm here to take the money and the chems. Oh, and to kill all of you."

"What? That's crazy!" Lay Time shouted in annoyance, but when I shot the first ghoul he screamed, "Oh, shit!" he drew a gun but I was faster on the uptake and shot it out of his hands. He tried to make a break for it but I side kicked him and he smashed into a huge gasoline truck. His buddies tried to gang up on me, but Chef had a 10mm packing and he took down two of the three. "Last one's on me," I smirked and shot the idiot's head clean off.

"You guys, you know how illegal this is?" Lay Time was shuddering, and I think he pissed himself.

"Less illegal than a drug deal," I told him, and shot him in the chest.

"Grab the bags," said Chef, as he was already picking up a few from the ghouls.

"No thanks, I don't do drugs," I nodded to him as I lifted a few coin purses from Lay Time's saddle bag. "But I do appreciate a good pay day."

Later that evening I ended up spending the last of the caps from the hit on booze. Chef was happy to serve me, he said I was hilarious drunk. I didn't know what he meant, I was being completely serious. I had to know what was up in that hole, above the town. He said it was only Broncston Commons. Nothing too special, not sightseeing worthy anyway. But I knew all signs pointed to that alcove.

"Blitzy, buddy, thank goodness I found you. What's going on? You're drunk!"

"Cappy, oh good, oh good you're here." I put a hoof on his shoulder, looking him square in the eye. "I just helped, ya know, that guy, Brooke. Chef ain't gonna do nopony no harm anymore."

"Is that so?" Capper glanced over his shoulder at the bartender.

"Hey! I told him no more drinks an hour ago." Chef shrugged.

"We better uh, go tell Brooke the good news." I tried to stand but I was all wobbly and Capper had to catch me.

"He already knows old friend. Let's get you to a bed."

"Why?! I'm very angry with you ya know." I told him, trying to scold him.

"I know, and we can talk it over when you're sober."

"O-Ok, Cappy." I smiled at him then began to pass out in his arms. Next thing I knew we were in his office, upstairs in the bed. "Th-There's only one bed Capper." I told him.

"Yeah, I'll go sleep on the couch." he explained.

"N-No!" I grabbed his paw and he looked down at our joined extremities. I used it to pull him down toward me, and for a second time since meeting his lips met mine. I closed my eyes and kissed him, wanting him to stay. "Please stay with me."

"Alright," he smiled, then curled up next to me.

At that we fell asleep to the flickering of the candle in the lantern beside the bed.

 _(I've been going bold and I know you like it! Drunk off his ass? What next, sex? Probably. Don't count on it ;) Did you like my rendition of Diamond City Blues from Fallout 4? This is a Fallout 4 fanfic afterall. Blitz had a meltdown there, needing to relieve stress I guess he did it in a way only wastelanders know how, killing a bunch of bitches! He did it alright. Got a bunch of caps and booze too for it. Work done though, it's time to see what lies hidden in Broncston Commons. Capper and Blitz make a cute couple don't they? Who's cuter, OJ and Blitz or Capper and Blitz. I'm a furry, so I'd take the cat anyday, but let's see where this story goes, shall we? Love ya!_

 **Brohoof! /)**


	6. Chapter 6 Party Foul

_(Note: In this chapter we follow along one of the short little side quests to help Brooke get his wife back. Then, Blitz and Capper get to meet the real mayor of Double Diamond City. Can you guess who it is? ;)_

 **Chapter 6** Party Foul

I have to say, I haven't gotten drunk like that in a long time, and I think I really needed it. But I think I could've used without wood this morning. Blushing, I was embarrassed when Capper woke up and commented on my stiffness. Yes, it was fine to see him, but he just needed to shut up, there was a lady downstairs. I shoved my lips on his and he melted into me. "Agree to keep quiet about this for now?" I said as I dragged away.

"Sure thing, my little peño." He winked and slid into his coat as he walked downstairs. "I'll get coffee."

I narrowed my eyes and checked under the blanket, "Did-Did he just make a small dick joke? I do not have a—!"

Downstairs I could smell coffee brewing. It reminded me of Pre-War times, and my old buddy. I closed my eyes and heaved a sigh. Something in me yearned to think where he might be now, but I couldn't think on it. It was too much to think about this early in the morning, hungover. For now, I guess it was best to try sobering up with some coffee. So I picked myself up and made my way down the stairs.

"Well…looks like we're outta cream," said the cat, "Perkins bought tea again."

"Don't look at me," she said, and spun in her spinny chair.

"Must be nice." I commented. "I'll take a cup."

* * *

Nexus Spark

 _Pre-War: 15 Years Before The Megaspells_

Everypony kept telling me even when my hope was gone for my little sister, I should just move along. How could anypony just sit back when they knew everything had gone horribly wrong? I knew I couldn't, but now I just wasn't sure what to do.

Blitz and I were on the fast track for University now, just one last year before making it out of this hellhole of a town. Yeah, I liked school and everything, but high school sucked, especially when everypony considered you the nerd. Looking at my matrix styled cutie mark I guess I couldn't blame them.

I sat typing an essay for a scholarship, telling about all the challenges I had faced over my high school career. The most pressing one was the death of my sister, Fire Flower. But I neglected to include that in my paper because I'd heard somewhere that nopony liked a sob story. It was difficult to keep myself from thinking of her, but that was just the way things were. Little did I know this would be the day Blitzfire would change our lives forever. There would be a lesson here for both of us, but knowing that colt, he wouldn't get it for a long time to come.

There came the click clack of pony hoofsteps over my shoulder where Blitz came to join me at the library computer lab. He stood watching behind me and when he finally spoke he laughed and said, "Nexy guess what I just saw in the bathroom?"

I turned around to face him, lowering my glasses that I only needed to read, "Girls doing makeup?"

"No?" he frowned, "But that's a good idea for next time. I guess I should have iterated I was in the stallion's room."

I nodded, "Mhm, yeah."

"What I saw was a flyer for the most popular hangout outside of town." Blitz lifted a hoof to reaffirm his statement, still thinking everything was fine when it so clearly was not.

"Blitzfire," I snapped, the effects of an overnighter and lack of caffeine. "I'm trying to write my essay for scholarships, and you should be doing the same. Next year is University and neither of us should be passing this up. Or did you forget, Fire Flower just died last year!" I was huffing and puffing in anger.

Blitz took a step back and some nerd in the corner shushed me and said, "No talking in the library."

"Nexus, we still have 4 months here! I think you're missing out on the most important times of the last of your foalhood." he had his eyes narrowed and though he would deny it, I think I saw tears forming there.

"Yes and the most important time to be setting up the rest of my life."

He planted a hoof, "No. Nexus, starting today I'm going to help you get back on your hooves. You're missing out and I'm done sitting by watching my friend eat himself away." then he did the unthinkable. He pressed his hoof down on the enter key and submitted my application. "Submit that stupid thing and forget about it till it's too late like the rest of us. I'm sure you'll get in and I'm sure I will too. Now. You're coming with me."

My eyes widened but there was nothing I could do but let him drag me by my tail to the party spot he'd mentioned previously…

"This isn't even music!" I had my hooves over my ears to block out the sound.

"It's rock music," Blitz told me and I noticed in the background that there was a poster of the Minister of Morale stating Pinkie Pie is Always Watching in big bold capital letters, and everypony knew that Pinkie Pie used to live on a rock farm.

"Is this all we're allowed to listen to?" I scoffed and shook my head. Then I decided to head off alone. I went into the trees, and went to sit by myself in the brush.

What was my life becoming? I was losing track of my friends and the direction I was heading. Blitzy was right, I was focusing too much on Fire Flower, too much on the past. I didn't know where I was going and I felt lost and alone. I knew I had to get over the fact that she was gone, but I just couldn't. My life had gone from hell to nightmare in two seconds flat.

First came the loud honking sound. Then the bright yellow light. I could've easily moved out of the way but something in me didn't want to. I think I was ready for it to all be over. My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating but even that was ready to flail for air and give up to drown. Sometimes I wish somepony out there would find me, but I walk alone. So instead I just sat and gave up.

"Nexus!" screamed my best friend, and dive bombing me, we went into a roll and down the hill.

"Well I was ready for it but check my vital signs why dontcha?" I growled at him. Then I let out a long breath and said, "Look, I'm sorry. I'm going through a hard time. I just need my friend."

Blitz hugged me, "I think you've found him. And I've found you."

We laughed and walked off to the lake to ignore the party. He didn't know how true that would be, nor did he know that I had my family's revolver with me, ready to end it at any time.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

Closing the bar and locking the gate for "safety," the security ponies nodded. "So this is a ski lift huh?" I put my hooves up on the rail, balancing myself and letting them hang down.

"Yep, got us in with Brooke's help. Sly dog," Capper made finger guns with his paws.

"You're a cat," I pointed out.

"And you're a pony, my friend," he grinned at me.

I watched as the ground fell away from us and my stomach fell, giving me butterflies. I wondered if this is what it felt like to fly. The ground got smaller and smaller as we rose up to meet the paths winding through the mountains. It got colder as we ascended, and I shivered. "Maybe I should've brought a scarf." I chewed my tongue trying not to let my teeth chatter.

"Not to worry old pal, I have just what you need." with that Capper helped tie a scarf around my neck. It was cream yellow and red plaid.

"Thanks I suppose," I said as the lift came to a jarring stop. We were on a snowy path leading to what my Pip-Buck labelled as the Broncston Commons. There was something hidden down there that just lay in wait to discover.

I took my first step off the lift and crunched into snow and ice. My horseshoe was half frozen off but this was nice compared to the heat of the rest of the wasteland. It was way different up here. The higher you got the more snow there was. But down there it all seemed to just melt away. I turned to the railing to check out the view. Down below the baseball stadium surrounded a small village of identical cottages. I wasn't sure what it was, I'd never heard of it, but it was eerie and ominous just sitting there all alone with no visitors or occupants.

I followed Capper down the trail to a huge ice bridge leading to a cave in the mountains. I narrowed my eyes, thinking I recognized the shape of a gear blocking the tunnel entrance. But that couldn't be right.

Crossing the bridge, I was still narrowing my eyes trying to pinpoint it, but it was too far away. Until we were right up in front of it, I couldn't decipher it. It was a in fact a big gear shaped door. A Stable! I gasped, seeing my breath in front of me and I put a hoof to my muzzle. "Capper, its a Stable."

You have discovered

Broncston Commons

He knocked on the solid metal door, "There ain't no gettin in there. Not unless you got some fancy do-dad that'll be sufficient for that there lockport." he used a thumb to indicate the contraption and I nodded.

Looking up at the door, I began to attach my Pip-Buck to the control pad. There was no number to indicate the Stable's designation. Instead it had a huge equal sign painted in industrial yellow, customary to the door but it was abnormal to lack a number designation. The Pip-Buck activated and an alarm signalled to us that the door was opening.

"This is the mayor's office?" I breathed in awe.

"I never knew anything so fancy was hiding up here in these here mountains," said Capper. He rubbed his chin.

I took the first steps into the Stable. The Entrance Chamber was in a smoky haze. I coughed and waved a hoof to clear away the fog. There was the platform heading toward the generator rooms and straight ahead to the main stable.

"To think Stable-Tech had this all the way up here. Instead of Broncston Commons we've found Broncston Stables." Capper dropped his arm and reached for a weapon inside his coat. He pulled out brass knuckles.

"Cat Claws?" I rose a brow.

"What?" Capper frowned, "When I was a kit, they had me declawed. Storm King didn't like no one opposin' him."

"Sounds fun," I rolled my eyes.

"Well, now I'll tell you a secret, I did somewhat enjoy getting a muzzle on." he smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

I nodded and pressed the release pad on the main door, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Now we're talking," he made finger guns at me.

" _Welcome to Stable E,"_ said a female computerized voice.

There was a winding corridor in here, something that was not normal for a Stable layout. I only recognized this from one place, but I couldn't think back on this, it gave me bad flashbacks. We rounded the corner and Capper pressed the keypad to open the door into the Inner Atrium.

"By the sisters," he breathed when we saw what was within.

A stasis room, and my heart gave a jolt. It was an almost exact replica of what lay in store for the denizens of Stable 14. "Capper, this is cryostasis. I recognize this." the only difference was that there were two pods instead of hundreds.

"Think again my friend," he waggled a finger at me. "This isn't cryo, it's arcana." he spread his paws in front of a machine with a off white orb stuck in the socket.

"It's Time Magic." I couldn't believe my eyes. I spun around to the first chronos pod. It had a cutie mark symbol on it and it matched the identifier on my Pip-Buck map for Double Diamond City. "We have to do something." I said firmly to Capper.

I slammed a hoof on the off switch for the first pod. There was a hiss and release of steam and the pod's seal cracked open. It was lit inside, bathing the occupant in a sea of blue light. It opened to reveal a white pony with the same cutie mark. He had a wavy mane, a bit shaggy.

His eyes blinked open and he sat up. Then his eyes widened. "No! What have you done?" his voice was deep and reminded me of the beach.

"What do you mean what've we done?" I asked him.

He scrambled around to the other side where Capper was about to press open the next pod. He jumped and shoved at him, keeping him from opening the pod. "No!" he gasped for breath, "You can't open his. He's not well and it's the only thing keeping him alive!"

"Hooves off the merchandise!" Capper snapped as he adjusted his lapels in a poof of dust.

"Sorry, it's just that you don't understand," the blue eyed pony shot his gaze around in a frenzy.

"What don't we understand?" I asked him.

"I've been here for two centuries with my coltfriend, running this town so that we could protect it from the dangers of the Fallout." he said, and his chest heaved with nerves.

"Wait, you're…Double Diamond?" I nearly choked on my own tongue.

"Yes! And in that chronos pod lying in sleep is my coltfriend, Party Favor." he pointed at the pod and we all turned to stare.

"You mean to tell me that a sleeping guy who should be dead has been running this place top to bottom for centuries?" Capper crossed his arms. "Not buyin it."

"It's true. But Party is sick, and I've been trying for years to figure out the cure."

"Don't you think that's a little difficult without a way to get out of the house?" I asked him with a hoof raised.

"Pretty much. It takes a great deal of magic to do that, and from here I just have enough to keep us alive." Double Diamond explained. "I couldn't reach out to any other magical activity without a way to."

"Maybe I can help with that." I nodded to him. In my EFS a new objective appeared.

Quest added

DOUBLE DIAMOND DOWN

"I can feel it now," he said and stood, "there was a huge burst of magic, south of here." I glanced around, getting a pretty bad feeling about where that might be. "In Bittsberg."

 **OOO**

" _Goooood evening fellow wastelanders. We know we're gonna have a goodnight tonight! I got with me here today a special guest, reporting live. Yes, you're hearing me right folks. At your request, heeeeeere's Crimson Crown! She won the Rodio Award for Best Singer in Faith. For those of y'all that don't know, Faith is the biggest small town in the Palomino Desert. Now, Crimson tell us, how'd you find yourself singing in the rodio and did you ever think you'd be the one to win that award?"_

"You're telling me you came all the way up to Broncston Commons to wake me up from a 206 year sleep just to tell me Piper wanted to show me her dumb flyer?"

"And let her in," Capper pointed out with that sly look of his.

"Right," DD's eyelids drooped. "Well she's my friend, I suppose I can't just leave her out there." he took a sip from a straw in the glass of Sparkle Cola he'd gotten from Tanashaki's Noodle Cup. Picking up a radio talkie he spoke into it, "This is Double Diamond speaking, let Piper in, she lives here for Celestia sake."

"Double Diamond?" asked the guard who responded, "But sir, you said not to let her in. She's stirring up a whole heap of trouble."

"Do I need to come all the way there in pony? Kuz I will my dude."

"No sir, we're letting her in."

"Thank you." he winked at us.

"Sheesh!" came Piper from the main stairs. She was waving her arms angrily, "Took ya long enough. What in the DDC were you thinkin'?" she shantied up to our table but her mouth dropped when she saw we had the mayor right here with us.

"He really did wanna talk about that flyer." Piper cleared her throat and fixed her newsboy cap on her head.

"Yeah, and one thing I want to make clear Piper is that these posters are scaring people." he said, brushing his bangs out of his face, where they just ended up falling back down. It just made me think of another certain colt I'd yet again left behind me…

"Are you kidding? This is going to the press!" she lifted her hooves and made a movie box, "This just in! Mayor DD refuses to spread the truth!"

"You can print what you want Piper," he waved his hoof around, "but you can't put these images up. They'll scare people."

She raised her hooves in surrender. "Alright alright, you got me. But now you gotta tell me, how'd you score the home run? I haven't seen ya around here in well, ever."

"Long story dude," he bit his lip. "Listen everypony, I want you to know how grateful I am, but I have to go now."

"Where ya off to in such a rush?" Piper narrowed her eyes and put a hoof down on the table.

"I have to save Party Favor. He's sick and a huge burst of magic hit my radars not too long ago. There's enough of it to save him." he nodded.

"Do you think I can catch up with you later," I asked him. "I know what you're going to need to find it, but I have something else I need to take care of first."

"That's fine, I'm just happy you saved me from that terrain park." he smiled.

"What's that?"

"A difficult obstacle course on the side of a mountain." he informed us.

"Well you're gonna need help out there," said Piper. "I'll go with ya!"

"Ok! Then it's settled. We'll all meet here first thing tomorrow to say our goodbyes right?" Double Diamond glanced at me, a pleading look in his eyes.

"Of course we will." I nodded to him. "Piper, can I talk to you first?" I asked her.

"Sure." she followed us to Capper's office.

Sitting around the table I put down a few documents leading to an isolated hospital west of an old castle in South Broncston. Just south of the hospital was a strange symbol of a pony sketched many times over into what looked like a pony waving their arms. "That same symbol was on your flyer and I want to know what it means." I pointed at it.

"Oh my Faust!" Piper snatched the map, "Where in Equestria did you get this? Nopony knows the location of the Institute."

"What's the Institute?" I asked her.

"Only the most diabolic and notorious company in Post-War Equestria." Piper was waving her hooves, making shadow puppets to tell her story. "You see, not too long ago, there was this old abandoned hospital and a sealed up Stable. When that Stable opened up, somepony came out, but he was all alone. He made his way north, where he found the hospital, nopony knows where, and he developed the Institute. Now, most of Broncston fears that at any time, any one of their loved ones could be snatched up and replaced with a synth, a fabricated robo-pony designed to replace members of society so they can do whatever they want to the real one."

I shook my head, "But why would they wanna do that?"

"Nopony knows," said Piper.

"So what you're saying is for all that, this has only led me down another dead end trail?" I snapped.

"Take a swig of your drink honey, because that's where you're dead wrong." Piper smiled, giving me back my Stable-Tech issued maps.

"Blitzy," Capper said, topping off my drink, "What the sweet thang is trying to say is, this is only the next step. We got our lead, now we just need to follow it."

"I'm not sure I wanna do that anymore."

Capper held out his paw, "Look amigo, I know you've been through a bad time. We've all been there. But you can't give up, I know when I did, I let a lot of ponies down."

"Fine, but I need to sleep this one off. It's been one hell of a day, and that Stable up there didn't help. Bad memories."

"Alright, keep it cool. I'll be up to join ya in a minute." he winked at me. Oh don't make me horny when I'm in this mood.

I heard them down there discussing. He was asking Piper for help, something about what we needed to do next for our next lead. I heard her tell him something about the Railroad, an organization working to fight for synth rights. She didn't believe in their cause, but she told him they thought that not all synths from the Institute were bad and that most just wanted their freedom, and to live life amongst everyday ponies and not be treated differently. To Piper that was just preposterous. But she also knew they knew about another mission, one that would lead them to another synth, hiding away off the mainland.

Before I knew it, Capper was crawling into bed with me. He slunk his way under the covers and there he was, finger twirling in my chest fuzz and everything. I murmured something about being tired and he shushed me. "Not to worry, Capper's gonna take care of it all from here."

* * *

Ah, breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Well guess what we were having. I scowled glumly into the slop Takanashi had served us, again. I guess when you ask for bread you might wanna order the soup on the side. My toast was found soaked in the noodle muck. "I can't eat this," I complained.

"Chin up!" said Piper, "This is gonna be a great day. I'm helping the mayor bring back his long lost coltfriend and you two are going off to take down the Institute. What more could a mare ask for?"

"I don't know," Capper said behind a paw so only the four of us could hear. "Try asking Veronica. She'll say she wants a new dress but as soon as you give her one, she never wears it!"

"Who's Veronica?" Piper bit down on her toast and rolled her eyes.

"So today's it huh?" Double Diamond set down his Ponish muffin. "I'm heading south, but I hear Piper is going to take us on a detour first?"

"Is that so?" I glanced over to Capper who grinned nervously. Not the best poker face.

"Yeah, she agreed to take us to the Railroad location in the North End."

"No no, I agreed to take you to the Friendship Trail. I have no clue where they are! But that should lead you right to it."

I put a hoof on my chin, "Uh-huh. So should we head out? I think I'm starting to get a bit cold here."

"Sure thing dude!" DD smiled and pumped his arm.

* * *

We travelled all the way through Broncston to get to the North end. It was difficult to avoid the scum that resided here, but we made it. On our bellies, we crawled into sight of the pond, where a statue stood in wait. "Be careful," whispered Piper, "Don't get too close to the water. This is Swan's Pond and inside is a big behemoth capable of killing both of you in one hit."

"Oh great, and the beginning of the trail is right there?" I pointed to the statue.

"Yep." she nodded.

"Good luck guys," said DD. "I can't wait to see you guys again."

"Me neither old friend," said Capper, giving him a hug.

"See ya guys," said Piper with a wave, and off they went, gone in the alleys.

I stepped up to the statue, reading the plaque. "Alright, the beginning of the trail. It says here we need to follow it to where the Lamp of Friendship guides the way."

Capper swept off the walkway with his tail, revealing the trail. "Looks like these bricks lead us where we need to go."

We moved along the trail, and followed it from one historic building to the next, and on each plaque were some strange letters and numbers. I took note of them in my Pip-Buck until we reached the Old North Church. It wanted us to go inside and a huge symbol of a lantern was painted on the doors. "I wonder what's inside." I breathed. Any treasure hunter would be stupid to pass up an opportunity like this.

"Only one way to find out. Hey, wonder if they're still doing services?" he laughed and pushed the door open.

The hinges creaked like the screeching of a dying crow and inside it was dim. "Don't worry, I have a light." I told him and activated the Pip-Buck light. There was a strange mist about, the dust catching off of beams of light from a high window. We were in the sanctuary. Nearby a staircase had caved in, revealing a huge chunk taken out of the wall. Capper was first to investigate. He even had his monocle out and equipped.

"There are hoofprints in this dust," he pointed out.

"Let's follow them." down we went into the catacombs of the church, into the morgue. Creepy.

There were more painted up lanterns here and we followed them past crypts and caskets. There was a huge panel on the wall, a circular contraption with three parts. We spun the device the way we'd been instructed along the trail and when we were done it spelled, FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC. Inside it was pitch black. That's when the lights snapped on and three ponies stood, pointing guns in our faces.

"My name is Othello," said the lead stallion, "I want to know what you are doing here."

 _(Can you guess why I named this Party Foul? Because of Party Favor x3 Anyway. Piper is great and hopefully after the Broken Heart, I'll write the story with her and DD going to Bittsberg. So, after all this, Capper and Blitz start the first leg of_ their _journey together. This is gonna be a great one, especially with the Railroad. Lets look forward to a Far Harbor themed adventure in the works. Until next time!_

 **Brohoof /)**


	7. Chapter 7 Far From Home

_(Note: So after meeting the Underground Railroad, can ya guess where Blitz and Capper are going next? We're gonna follow along one of Fallout 4's more prestigious storylines (as in it is my favorite DLC by far of the series). Let's see what happens :D )_

 **Chapter 7** Far From Home

"Hold up now y'all," Capper went in with his hands raised in surrender, like that was going to get us anywhere. "We didn't come here to do any harm."

A bullet rang out through the air, pinging off something near Capper's feet. "Don't take another step," said a very light purple pony, her pigment so soft she was almost white. Her mane was flipped over and a soft umbrae purple.

"We're only here because we heard there was a problem with a synth," I stated. I didn't dare take a step though, I knew they were being serious.

"Problem?" Othello stepped forward, his cream colored fur thicker and rippling. "Synths aren't the problem."

"We're just here to help," said Capper, trying to calm him down. "Blitz didn't mean anything by it."

"Help with what," said the last pony, one who was so white he looked albino, and his mane was so shiny it looked almost fake.

Capper reached into his satchel and pawed off a couple documents to Othello. "This here is what I call a scam, and I think y'all might know a thing or two about it." Othello read through the papers with quickly widening eyes.

"Tiger!" he snapped and the purple maned one turned to salute.

"Yessir?"

"How did this information leave the compound?"

"It didn't," Capper told them, "I have an inside source. She got the scoop on your digs, so mind tellin' me what you folks are up to?"

"Beacon, let's bring em in." Othello nodded to the albino.

Suddenly, I had a gun pressed to my haunches. "Hey, what's the meaning of this? Get your hooves off me!" I cried out but they didn't listen. Next thing I knew we were in some sort of glorified pit for a command center. The burial chambers had been resurrected into something new, a makeshift bunker. In the very center of it all was a huge fountain, deactivated now, with wooden planks to cover the hole and make a command table. All around there were ponies hard at work, scientists on old versions of terminals hacking away on their research, weapons crafters at the smith melting down metals into guns or relic swords. It was a picture book in here, like looking back into a time long since past.

"Tiger, why don't you do the debriefing?" Othello commanded his youngest officer. I mena, you had to admit the mare was hot, but I wouldn't go getting the hots for her for the sake of hearts in my eyes. Besides I had eyes for only one creature, and I think I had to come clean sooner rather than later, but that was for a different time.

"Right away, sir." she looked toward us and set down a small roundish device in the center of the well. On came a holographic projection depicting a synth, then a large house on the edge of the sea, the tides lapping at the docks where a huge boat house sat, ships anchored at the harbor.

"What is this?" I asked, waving a hoof through it.

"Powerful ritualistic spellcasting founded by Starswirl the Bearded himself, and improved upon by our very own Dino," Beacon informed us, lifting a hoof to indicate the stallion in question. Over in his small corner of the HQ was a small unicorn who looked like a mad scientist. His mane was poofy and he wore goggles over his eyes. A blowtorch was busy causing sparks to fly.

"This here is the home of two deer ponies, the stag is named Bingo Nakano, the doe is named Ray Nakano. They are the parents of one young fawn, a doe named Mist Haze. They have reported her missing and it has been over a week. Bingo states that their daughter had been going through some rough times, and had been in contact with somepony over the radio. She took the family boat once belonging to the grandstag, and has not returned home since." Tiger explained, then flipped her view back onto us.

"Tell me," Capper rolled his wrist, "Do they know who she's been in contact with?"

"No, just that maybe her notes will lead you to the answer." Tiger said.

"Wait, us?" I asked, "But I thought you were against us."

"Not if you're here to help," said Othello.

"Oh, you got that right. Ya see, my name's Capper, and I'm from the Detective Agency down in Double Diamond City. The mayor sent me personally."

"While we have no connection to this city or this mayor of yours," Othello said, "you do seem to have a qualifying resume, and we would like to recruit you into helping this family."

"We'll do all we can. When do we leave?"

"As soon as you can!" Beacon jumped into the air, excited.

"Then let's hop to it," said Capper, and I knew it was because he liked to pounce on his prey, and carry his dead rabbits to his master to please him. But that was a whole 'nother ball park and I was not hopping aboard that bandwagon.

* * *

The sands of the east coast beaches were horrendous and cold. There was black glop in the dunes and green froth on the sea. Every few miles there were new horrors to behold, such as the dead rotting corpses of expired Harbor Lurks laying about like discarded trash. Then we finally made it, to the house in the hologram. The lights inside were flickering and on. We could hear two people arguing inside.

Capper slunk to the side of the hovel, were leaning against the doorframe, he held up a small gun, one I hadn't seen in a long time because it was so old, even the newer 10mm was better. He held onto a 9 mil, its black frame dusty with use. "What are you looking at hotshot? I bust this out myself, it's got that old cat-o-nine-tails ring to it thanks to me."

I nodded, "Yeah, right. I'd love to see that. Besides, why are you holding onto it anyway?"

"He, my compadre, is not an it. He is named Lugnut and he has two brothers, but they were lost on an island that I'm getting a sinking feeling these two know about."

"Interesting…" I nodded. "Ok, but no shooting big guy."

"Not to worry," he winked and put the gun away. He knocked a few times on the door and the chatter inside died down.

"Come in!" called Ray, her voice high pitched and heavily accented. The 'in' sounded like _een_.

"Just turning the TV off now!" the old man, Bingo, sounded similar but deeper, his 'just' like _juice_ and his off like _oaf._

I opened the door, and it must've been upkept well because the hinges didn't squeak at all. "Hello, we're from the Capper Detective Agency, we're here to inquire about your daughter?"

The couple stood by the antique table, one staring out the window and the other staring at an old family photo hanging on the wall, depicting a family of four, an old buck, the young stag and his doe wife, and their fawn daughter. I examined the deers, as I had never seen them and had thought they'd gone extinct way back before my time. I guess not.

I did notice the couple had some blemishes on their once snow soft fur. The father was mostly white with a couple large black spots, but those weren't the rough patches. Bingo had a large amount of red marks that looked like raised flesh, burned and tinged with green glowing sores. Similar with Ray, but she was a lavender charm color, soft and subtle yet rich and tasteful. Her cutie mark was visible, whereas Bingo's was covered by his scars. She had a wonderful misty formation that encircled her flank in a fresh breeze. It even moved which I had never thought possible! I had never seen a deer pony, and I didn't know they had cutie marks let alone moving cutie marks, but I did know one thing.

"Radstags!" Capper and I both breathed at the same time.

* * *

"Yes, it's true," Ray began, sitting down and inviting us to join for dinner. "We are only alive today because of the poison the radiation has caused us. We are mutated, no better off than ghouls, however, we don't have many of the nasty side effects."

"Our daughter, she has left us. Ran off into the ocean like a regular old Moana." Bingo painted a picture in the air beautifully and it made me wonder what his hidden cutie mark might be, his special talent.

"I heard on her radio, the sounds of song on sunrise," stated Ray, "and it sounded dark. Strange ponies on the other side, beckoning our daughter to them."

"We didn't think anything of it," Bingo shook his head and put his hooves on his head, rubbing the spot between his magnificent antlers. "Not for awhile. But then she began to abandon all her projects. She turned her attention on her grandstag's words and on fixing up my old fishing barge."

"If you could just find out why," sobbed her mother, "Bingo can patch up the old Sea Captain, our ferry, and bring you to where we think she went."

"And, where might that be?" Capper put one claw tip on the tabletop.

"Cumber Harbor." Ray said and I could almost hear the dun dun dun music in the background.

"Oh, that's just an old soap on the radio, forgot to turn it off," said old buck Bingo. He got up to go fix that, while Ray continued.

"Her radio's upstairs, in her room. I'm sure you can also find a lot of her memory orbs lying around too, her notes."

"Oh colt," I facehooved.

 **OOO**

"I say I'm for it," said Capper. "I've never been in somepony else's horseshoes, if you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean old friend. Let's just get this over with." I sighed and lifted the sphere so we could both touch it.

* * *

 _We sat in a small wooden room, a red sofa pressed against the wall just behind us. We were in the body of Mist Haze. On the sofa was an old pony, a long white beard, and his antlers going softly from brown to white. Young Mist looked up at her grandstag. "Grandstag Whist, what was sailing like? You know, before the war?"_

 _The old buck chuckled and stroked his beard, "Why young lady, back in my day you'd trade your hat for a chance to feel your fur in the cold sea breeze of a nice sail." He raised his hooves and whooshed them through the air to improvise water waves, "It was the real deal, sweetheart."_

 _"Did you ever get sprayed by the ocean, grandstag?" giggled young Mist, making Capper and I feel the happiness of a young foal._

 _"Oh, everyday, you scallywag!" he picked us up and set us in his lap. He grabbed a picture book from it's place on the nightstand and opened it up to page one. "She, this here's me, on my first ever vessel. Every stag marks the day when he earns his sealegs. I was in the Canterlot Navy I was."_

 _"Whoa!" gasped the little doe, "What was that like?!"_

 _"I was a ship's mechanic, in fact, the forestallion as they put it." he lifted a hoof and tapped it against his knee like a hammer, "I supervised over 15 stallions on that tub, and we were a jolly ol' crew. We worked endlessly to keep that boat ship shape. There's nothing like getting your back into a hard day's work."_

 _"You sure did earn your keep mister," Mist, we, tapped on our grandstag's chest playfully a few times._

 _"We sure did," he beamed down at his grandfoal, proud of us. "You know what keeps me keeping on young lady?"_

 _"No, what?" she looked up at him with bright wide eyes, so excited for what's to come next that we couldn't see it hittin' us like a ton of rocks._

 _"Working on that old barge with your Papa keeping me going another day," he chuckled, "keeping me sane. Just know, I'll always love you." that's when he started coughing and we was coughing up blood._

 _"Oh no, Grandstag!" Mist Haze cried out, her round crystal blue eyes frightened for her grandstag. "Whist!" she jumped up, cream fur ruffling, and she ran out the door to find her parents._

* * *

Everything went black and Capper and I were back to business in the foal's room. I glanced at him, he had his arm over his belly like he was going to puke. "Everything okay?" I asked, taking a step toward him.

"Whoa, back it up now," he coughed, "hairball!" and out it came. He wasn't kidding. How did cats manage to get all that down their throats?

"How was it for your first time in then?" I snorted.

"Don't make fun of me," he put a paw up, looking to cough up more crap, "it was a very interesting ride. Not sure I wanna be forced down onto all fours again though, unless it's in the bedroom."

"Sounds good," I grinned like a foal. Still wondering when the perfect time would be to tell this puss I loved him. I was blushing again, my cheeks were very warm. But Capper was too preoccupied to notice. I didn't realize till later but Capper noticed, he was just too aroused and polite to say anything at the time.

He straightened himself up. "So now we know why she went, motive, and the how, that barge, means, but we still don't gotta a clue as ta where she went."

"Well, we do have a radio." I gestured toward it.

"Great!"

" _zz-Come in mainland. This is an S.O.S., we need help immediately. Our shores have been overrun by mutants and we're running low on ammo. Bring all the firepower you got, we're gonna need it if we wanna get to those defoggers. Out-zz. This message is set to repeat."_

"Well buck," I kicked some dust up with the tip of my hoof.

Capper put his paw on the radio dial, "Let's see if she tuned into anything else." he turned it and for a moment it was only the buzz of static, then a voice came through.

" _This is Achilles of Acadia. We have food, water and shelter here. This is a synth refuge. If you can hear my call, you're in luck. Come to Cumber, we will guide you. Achilles out. THIS MESSAGE IS SET TO REPEAT."_

Capper lowered his paw, and his face was in shock. "What is it?" I asked him, taking a step toward him. He slashed out, and the radio fell, "Oh, Faust. I apologize," he was still attempting to smooth talk but I could hear it in his voice, he was shaky.

"Who is that?" I glanced at the radio, now smashed on the floor.

"He's my brother."

* * *

The couple came running upstairs, "What was that? We heard something fall." Ray had worry written all over her features.

"Just a radio," I assured them. "Nothing serious."

"Do you have any leads?" asked Bingo, scratching his antler.

"Why yes, in fact we do. But we're gonna need a boat, if you don't mind." said Capper with one finger raised.

Bingo led us to the docks, smiling. "Dontcha worry. I have my old rig from back when I was a boy and it was my pa showing me the waters." we stepped aboard a large ferry, one that had a powerful propellor engine.

"You don't mind if we take her for a spin?" asked Capper.

"No, not at all," smiled the old sea captain. "Not if it means getting my daughter back safe and sound."

"Even if it means you'll be getting a synth back?" I asked the old stag.

"There's no way in tartarus she's a synth," he said. "Now you two have a safe journey. I expect I'll be seeing you soon."

"This is gonna take us to Cumber?" Capper looked about, inspecting the deck.

"Back in my day it was called Cumberland Island. Pa used to take me and my siblings there all the time for fresh catches and delectable produce. The market was wonderful this time of year. I suspect it won't be as so when you arrive I'm afraid." the deer pony looked down at his cloven hooves.

"Deer!" called Ray, "Tea's on. I have dinner almost ready and soups boiling. Why don't you let the fine detectives do their job?"

"I'll be seeing you," nodded Bingo and we parted ways.

Into new territory, one I'd never known could be possible. I didn't even know we still had operable boats, but I suppose if vertiherds were still flying then so were seabearing vessels, so to speak. Did boats swim? I don't know but I suppose I should go see what Capper was doing in the control room. He was at the wheel, and it was literally a big spired thing. The helm, and I suppose he felt he was a captain. He was even wearing a pirate hat though I don't know where he got it.

"Where'd you get that?" I pointed at the hat.

"What, this old thing? Just a tricorne, or cocked hat," he winked at me.

"But it's a pirate's hat, won't that send the wrong message to whoever we meet?" I pursed my lips, which was actually rather difficult with a muzzle now that I thought about it.

"Pirate?!" he guffawed, "No, no, no. You're a treasure hunter aren't you?"

"Um. Yeah?"

"I prefer the term "Swashbuckling Treasure Hunter," don't you?"

"Sure, whatever you say old pal." I nodded. Sometimes I just needed a break from his general ramblings.

"Look, land ho!" he pointed and we both smiled. I guess now was not the time for a break and that was just fine with me. I think I was starting to get a little seasick anyway.

We pulled up in the docks to a dark and damp seaport. There was a small haze shrouding everything and I could just barely make out the lights poking through the shadows. "Is…is that a town?" I squinted my eyes but couldn't tell.

"I think so. Come on, we should check it out." Capper waved me on and we hopped off the ship.

"Ah ah, I don't think so." on the planks of the dock we came face to face with a mare wearing a bandana, white button up and black vest and pointing a sword in our faces.

"Quite the welcoming party," said Capper, holding up is paws.

"Who are you?" asked the mare.

"I might ask the same of you," I planted a hoof forward, taking a defensive stance.

"I'm Captain Aviary. We don't get many visitors around here and we're in the middle of a crisis. You aren't here to add to that are you?"

"Nope, we're just here searching for a young mare from the Commonwealth, Mist Haze." I told her. "And to possibly get a drink."

"Well you're far from home, aren't ya? We do have drinks but the pub isn't open right now," she nodded and lowered her weapon. "Listen, I can help you out if you help me."

"What's the trouble, Aviary?" Capper smirked.

"We've been having problems with the defoggers. They're the only things keeping the fog, radiation, and creepy crawlies away." she sheathed her blade and turned to lead us into the town. We walked up the stairs, and past a huge sign stating the name of this place, "CUMBER ISLAND," however, the name was blown off halfway through, and it was impossible to see what came right after Cumber. Up ahead was a box office looking housing, perhaps the ticket booth for tourists visiting back before the megaspells.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" called a stallion, running up and stopping Aviary in her tracks. "Who's this? What are they doing on the docks?"

"Allen, these aren't your docks, these are the entire town's." said Aviary with a heavy huff of breath, like she'd told him a million times. "They're here to help."

"Oh great, oh yeah." he turned his fiery gaze on us, "Listen here, we don't need or _want_ your help, so why don't you just get back on your little ship and get lost!"

"What's this guys' problem?" I said behind a hoof to Capper.

 _Ring a ling ring! Ring a ling ring!_ Bells sounded far off, some sort of alarm system and somepony yelled, "There's something coming through the fog!"

"Follow me, if you help, it'll be much appreciated." Aviary turned to go. I lifted my weapons and checked my inventory on my Pip-Buck.

"Um, Cap, we've got a problem here."

"Same with me."

"I'm running dangerously low on ammo and I have no idea what we're dealing with." I told him. We were running and talking.

"I guess we can restock once we stop these things," Capper said.

We made it to the Hull, looking over the railings and seeing ponies running to the gates, "Open the gates! I've got more Mariners down here."

"There's no time," Aviary shouted, "You've gotta hold your own until we can kill these things!"

"Will do!"

"Are you sure you saw something?" somepony asked aloud.

"Oh shut up," a mare rebutted.

That's when I saw it and on my EFS it was labelled Gulper and Young Gulper. What in tartarus that was I had no clue. It looked somewhat like a lizard, but it was coming straight for us and swiping anything it saw out of the way. Including cars. "What the buck?" I gulped. I suppose that's why they called it a Gulper. I raised my revolver, checking the ammo and it read 6/23. I was screwed but at least it was down there and I was up here. But those Mariners, whoever they were, were trapped down there with them.

I fired off a couple rounds, but my most powerful weapon, ranging at 55 damage per shot, barely put a dent in the thing's HP. Either it had a lot of Hit Points or it was one tough cookie. "Capper, I'm going down there."

"What?" he shook his head, looking concerned.

"Somepony has to do something."

"Good luck," he told me.

"Don't need it," I said as I put my legs over the railing and leapt. I landed and rolled to take away the force of impact. I ran straight into one of the beasts, towering over me and roaring, and it really did look like a salamander. "Say goodnight," I shot it 5 times in the crotch and it yelled, covering itself as I slid underneath it and ended up behind.

"There's more coming in from the East and West!" cried the mare. Shots rang out all around, ponies desperately trying to stay alive.

"Eyes on the Hull," cried Aviary, and swiping away a white bang, she tossed a grenade. I jumped to the side, just narrowly avoiding the impact of the explosion.

The Gulpers were dead, but something else was coming. I saw bobbing lights, not entirely sure what I was looking at. It came at me though, looking like a big giant fish with large sharp teeth and a weird lantern hanging above its head. I fired at it and it seemed to do nothing. Instead, it reached for a defogger and sucked in some air, I could see the vapor going into its dreadful mouth. Then it turned to me, looking pleased with itself. "What the hell," I said slowly. It spewed fire like a flamethrower, turning radiation into arcana burst in five seconds flat. "Fuck!" I yelled and ran for it.

A Mariner helped fight it off, keeping it at bay until I reared my weapon and fired, shooting the lantern clean off its oversized appendage. It roared, a dangerous sound, and most of us covered our ears. For those that didn't they bled out from every opening in their body and they fell flat on their faces, dead. But that was all the Angler had left, because it too fell down, slain. Nothing else was coming, at least by the looks on everypony's faces. "Open the gate!" called Aviary.

We trudged into the town marketplace, seeing a fish shop nearby and a large tavern a little ways off at the very edge of town, with a many number of other shops in between. This didn't even reach the residential district. "Welcome to Far Cumber," said Aviary, walking up to me, her hooves clacking crisply against the wooden planks we stood on.

"Thanks," I said, a bit confused. It had all happened so fast.

"For your help, you've earned this." she nodded and placed a large coin purse in my open hoof. My EFS gave me a message in the upper left corner: [Bottlecap (275) added]. "I recommend grabbing yourself a harpoon gun before hitting the road. Or if you like faster weapons, I'd go for the radium rifle myself." she nodded and gave me a smile, showing off the smile lines near her eyes.

"You've got a lot to smile about if you look like that," I pointed out her cheery features.

"Well, yes. I'm pretty much glorified mayor of this place. But alas, not too long ago we had better control of this island. Now little by little those monsters are taking over. I'm not sure how much longer we can last behind these gates. But maybe with you and your friend's help, we can finally find a way to fix all this." she left me with that and I continued on to find Capper slinking his way toward the bar.

"I'm off for a good cup of booze," said the sly cat. "Couldn't hurt after all that."

"Of course not, I wanted one the second we got here," I smiled. All in a day's work.

 _(Soo, you didn't think I had anymore surprises did ya? Well how bout them radstags? I've always like the concept of deer ponies but why not combine them with Fallout lore and create Radstag characters? Hehe. Anywho, now we know Blitz's true feelings towards Capper, and it's soo cute! I can't resist. Now that we've seen what the island is like first hoof, why not go check out the rest? In the next Chapter! Love ya!_

 **Brohoof /)**


	8. Chapter 8 The Great Treasure Hunt

_(Note: In this chapter we go through a few questlines from Far Harbor DLC. Including The Great Hunt, where the hero gains rep by defeating a legendary creature on the shore. Pay attention to what Blitz finds, it'll come in handy later. We're also going to learn a very important secret about Capper.)_

 **Chapter 8** The Great Treasure Hunt

"Listen up y'all!" yelled a certain somepony who'd caused us problems once before. Allen. "Aviary wants to keep us behind her Hull, and we're sitting ducks. Well I've had it. Tonight, I'm gathering a team and I'm putting those Children of Arcana out of business. Who's with me?" there were a few hurrahs but nothing substantial. Allen climbed down from his position on the bar counter.

Capper and I sat at our own little booth, where we enjoyed some scotch and hard cider. You know who had which. "Hey," I poked him, "you know we're being watched?"

"By who?" Capper looked around, a little bit buzzed.

"That old stallion in the corner."

"Why don't you go talk to him?" Capper's head bobbed back and he took another drink.

I shoved my chair back and walked over to the rascal who was spying on us. "Regular old Han Solo over here." I gritted my teeth.

"I don't know about much of that, but I hear talk of ponies wantin' to run you out of town," said the old seabag.

"So? Not many ponies welcoming back where I come from either," I told him.

"Right, but this here is different. They run you out of here, you either A: don't get your girl and fail your quest or B: you're stuck on the opposite side of the gate with no way off even if you did find her. Either way you're walking the plank." he chuckled and patted his belly.

"How do you know all that?" I narrowed my eyes, half a mind to shoot him right here and now.

"Doesn't matter, but word does get around fast." he explained. "But I've got a way you can gain everypony's respect. Even meet the feller that'll bring you straight to where you need to go."

"How do I do that?" I sat down, listening.

"There's a legend around here," he lifted a hoof and waved it around to indicate the bar and the town, "'Bout a creature lurking the shores. He knocks ships coming in down, sinking 'em."

"Okay, and why's that matter?" I was getting sick of this. My trigger hoof was just itching to pull it.

"Kuz, I heard you're a treasure hunter, and he's got treasure to spare. You kill him and bring back the booty, you're homefree." the old stallion sat forward and laughed his head off, and I could see he was missing some teeth. One was gold.

"Alright. Where do I find him?"

"I'll mark your map, if you'll let me." he said, reaching out. I nodded.

None of this was on Stable-Tech's maps, but they probably hadn't considered there'd be survivors here. At least, not that I know of. Time to take this new information back to my cat friend, but when I found him, he was passed out. "Alright, I'm sure they have an inn around here somewhere," I said, huffing when I lifted my friend and put him on my back, carrying him out the door. I could still hear the old stallion's chuckles as we left.

* * *

Capper was stumbling and wobbling to and fro that morning, hungover off his ass and wearing a pair of sunglasses he had yet again managed to pull out of his tailhole. I decided to brew a cup of coffee, and pouring it in a mug I gave it to Capper. He frowned at me but then took the warm drink and sipped it gingerly.

Capper removed his glasses, "Alright, ready for another adventure amigo?"

We were off. Down by the docks we found a stone staircase leading to the beach. I took them two at a time, and even though Capper only took it one at a time and at a slink, he still managed to get there ahead of me.

Fog shrouded everything, blanketing us in darkness. I could barely make out where we were but there was no going back now. We apparently had to impress this Longfellow guy. I just hoped he wasn't old. Dealing with too much of that right about now. But here we were, and I could see the silhouettes of ships on the shoreline. That's when we noticed it. A strange red beacon in the mist. There were two of them, like eyes watching us from afar.

"I think we found it Capper." I told him quietly…

My little pony, My little pony~!

Do horses get songs stuck in their heads? I would say, yeah, all the time, and the only place any of us could think that it came from was Faust herself. Well oh my god, Tina, go to bed. I didn't much believe in Faust myself. If she had done all this, the Fallout, to all of us, then how could she be good let alone real?

The monster screamed, and came running for us. It had lured us into its garden and now it was ready to kill. We were due to be its next victim, but I wasn't about to go down without a fight. I drew my shotgun, it reminding me of something, but I couldn't think quite what. I shot it a few times, then pumped it. "Time to eat lead," I told it.

It fell back, circling around to strike again. I knew I had it right where I wanted it. I think Capper was still drunk, because he blew it. He ran straight for it, kitty claws bared and ready to scratch. The creature ran out and slashed at him, and he went flying. I think he was down to his eighth life now. I ran past him, ready to defend and the Red Death punched me with one of its poker little arms. I cried out in pain and fell on my back.

"Ok, you asked for it." I pulled out a small laser pistol, one for which I barely had any ammo for. I shot the monster and it screamed. I kept shooting until there was nothing left and the charge fell to zero. The monster was on the ground, squirming but I think that was its post death wiggle. It was brain signals, trying to reanimate the corpse, but there was nothing left so it subsided and I had won.

There was a stomping of hooves then, and I turn around with my unloaded weapon aimed and pointed it at the guy stepping from the fog. "Well done," he said in a cracking old stallion voice. Oh, great! "I didn't think anypony could do it! Kill the beast that's been haunting these shores for generation. But you win the ticket." he smiled at me from within his dark trenchcoat and black beanie. I saw his mane was white so he must be credible but I didn't believe that for a second. I shook his hoof.

"I'm Blitz, you must be this Longfellow I keep hearing about."

"My, word does get around fast." he chuckled, then pulled out a flask and took a swig of it.

"You carry around a flask?" I asked him.

"You don't?" he exploded in a barrel of laughter. "It's seaside brandy. I like to add it to my Pep."

"Your pep? Like in your step?" I squinted at him, trying to understand. He wasn't making much sense.

"No, no, no!" he shook, "I mean Pep, the Pony's Energizing Potion. It's a soda, it's an energy drink! Pep in your step, Vim and Vigor in your day!" he sounded like a comercial, but then the disclaimer started. "Due to be bought out by Sparkle-Cola but the war started before that could happen."

"So you put alcohol in your soda?" I rose a brow.

"Yes! It keeps the radiation away! You do realize Pep heals 50% more than Sparkle-Cola? It was originally a health tonic."

"Great, so I'm dealing with a crazy."

"I'm not crazy, and it looks like you two need my help." he leaned to the side to look around me, seeing the still drunk cat trying to land on his feet. He still hadn't picked himself off the ground, and he was acting like he thought the Red Death was still alive. Well it wasn't.

Longfellow took us back to his cabin, where my Pip-Buck assured me it was a location. Wow. Ponies must really love talking about this guy.

"You two wanna get to Arcadia hmm?" he put his lips together in thought as he poured something for Capper. It was a Pep, without the alcohol. "This'll get ya back on yer feet." he reassured Capper.

"Thank ya, I didn't know what I was gonna do."

"You always know what to do," I bumped him with my elbow.

"No, not about my feet, cats always land on their feet. I meant the alcohol. I feel a hell of a lot better." he lifted his glass in a toast.

"I'll stick with good ol' Sparkle-Cola," I lifted my own glass and tapped it against his.

"Good for you," said Longfellow with such enthusiasm. "Now, don't you go forgettin' yer treasure." he told us.

"Right, the treasure," I nodded.

I went digging in the guts of the Red Death. There it was. It was a necklace of unknown and unnatural design. It was blue, like the brightest diamond. There were gold coils twisting around, and protecting it in the center. It was breathtaking and so beautiful. It reminded me of the Elements of Harmony, but there was no way. My Pip-Buck labelled it the Moon Stone. Wow…

"You fancy yer'self a treasure." Longfellow was on his hind legs just to put his forehooves on his hips. He was cracking a smile like a wip.

It was time to go and I slammed my drink down to show how serious I was. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Capper was getting chummy with the creep. I dragged him by the ear where he commenced to say ow over and over again.

"So the road to Arcadia goes through a creepy forest covered in fog?" I asked Longfellow.

"Pretty much. But you have to keep an eye out and an ear peeled. There could be any number of monsters lurking in the mist." he winked at me.

I knew how to keep my pistol at the ready. Capper had a hand on my back as we carefully made our way over a felled tree. We were on a broken down back road, the asphalt cracked. The sky was pitch black, no stars in sight. I don't think I'd ever seen such an endless night. Like Luna herself had arisen from the dead and locked us in eternal slumber.

A twig cracked, but it hadn't been any of us. We snapped to, and looked about to see where it had come from. There was the shape of a pony across the way, hiding in the bushes, but I didn't think he even realized we were here. I was the best at Stealth Mode, but I suppose crawling through the trees would hinder anypony.

"What's that?" I whispered to the old stallion.

"Trapper. They're like the raiders where you come from but weathered and battle hardened against the tough facade of this island." he explained.

"We should keep it down," Capper had a finger on his lips.

"Who's there?" asked the Trapper. In a few seconds a gust of wind kicked up, "Huh, must've been the wind." how cliche.

We moved forward, trying to put the Trapper behind us, but then my horseshoe caught on something and my EFS read [CAUTION]. "Shit," I cursed as it switched to danger. I was about to get up when somepony pounced on me. He was pressing against me, his arms around my neck and his crotch against my hole. I grunted and I felt his breath on my neck. I was getting excited! "Hey get off me shitface!" I snapped and punched him in the throat. He choked and fell off me. When I turned around he was dead.

"I call rape," said Capper and we moved on.

Acadia was a factory like building. It was multilayered and there was a big metal staircase leading up to it. I think I saw that it led downstairs to subterranean levels. I would say there wasn't a Stable right here but we had found one in DDC. But there was no way they would hide 2. There was only one secret Stable. Or were there?

"This is where I'm gonna have ta leave you fella's." said Longfellow. He turned and left.

I opened the door. Inside it was brightly lit from overhead lights. They buzzed yellow. A mare turned around and shot us a look. "What in Equestria are you doing here?" she snapped. "There are no islanders allowed in here."

"Now Chaser, there's no need for that," came a face that looked very familiar. "Leave the sexual harassment to me, thanks."

Capper put a paw on his face, "Oh man, here we go again."

The cat I assumed to be Achilles now that I'd seen him narrowed his eyes at Capper, "I have seen the world, but it keeps washing right back up on my feet."

"Here comes the "I have seen the world" speech." Capper slid his paw down his face to make it look like he was frowning.

Still with eyes narrowed, Achilles' smile was like the moon, "Brother, what are you _doing_ here?"

"What am _I_ doing here? Achilles, I told you not to start a second Institute!" Capper had thrown his hands up.

"Second Institute? _Second_ Institute! You're crazy with a capital C, my friend." Achilles looked pissed now.

"What is going on here?" I interrupted. "Capper who is this and why does he look like you with purple hair and green eyes?"

"We look nothing alike my friend," Achilles said in that smug sarcastic tone.

"Yeh, I can kinda see it," Capper agreed.

"Want me to get rid of them?" asked Chaser.

"No, why don't we play this one out, see if the little kitten won't screw this one up again." Achilles snickered and turned around.

"Mess it up?" Capper pointed, "You're the one who likes to eat smoked cats you get from a taco truck!"

"That's not real buddy," he kept walking away. "That's a simulation, all in your head. I turned you away because you thought I was crazy for making us immortal."

"I'm really starting to get the feeling we should throw them out the door," said Chaser in that monotone voice of hers.

"What do you mean immortal?" I asked, looking between the two of them. "Capper, mind telling me _what the heck is going on?"_ my voice came out in a harsh whisper.

"Why don't we come take a look at the Sanitorium." said Achilles. "It's not as clean as it sounds."

"Don't I know it, baby," Capper snapped his fingers.

"Don't back me up," said Achilles.

That's when we entered a rather large computer room. Computers spanned the length of the walls, and it was circular, like an observatory. I noticed the telescope right away. "Okay, what is this place?"

"This my friend is an Observatory. And yes I speak Ponish," he pointed at Capper who was a little Latino.

"What's it for?" I asked.

Achilles turned to me, "It's my simulator. I keep Arcadia safe and I monitor our frenemies, the Children of Arcana."

"Frenemies?" I lifted a brow in skepticism.

"Well, we do have a sort of agreement not to detonate our defoggers." Achilles held up his index finger.

"Defoggers?" I questioned, looking to the side in concern, my pupils contracting.

"They are what keep this Island safe from the radiation." Achilles told us, using a paw to elaborate. "Pow right in the kisser, because those babies are a one way ticket to pound town. You heard me right, if they go off, the whole island will be filled with deadly arcana, and everypony's going down. Except the synths, unless they have some sort of EMP."

"What about everypony down at the docks? Or the Children?" I asked in shock.

"That's who we're trying to protect, they'll all die. The Children? Well they'll just think they're going to some sort of magical heaven or something, where Celestia and Luna and the Elements of Harmony are still abound. Which they're not, they're dead and buried in their underground Stables."

"You're a bit crazy, as usual old bat," said Capper who slapped his brother on the back.

"I get it," said Achilles sarcastically, "You're from Double Diamond City, the baseball arena."

I facehoofed, "Okay so what do we do about it?"

"Well first, why don't we start with what you're doing here? You have trespassed you know."

"Me? Trespass?" Capper put a paw on his heart, "No, no baby, you misunderstand. I hustle, I swindle, but I don't trespass."

"No one is buying it so cut the crap!" Achilles snapped, almost nearly sounding super high pitched.

"We're here looking for Mist Haze." I said.

"Our little Ice Queen?" asked Achilles, "Once Upon a Time, she was letting her old life go. The cold never bothered her anyway."

"What?" I gasped, dragging a hoof down my face.

"Can we talk to her?"

"Sure, she's downstairs with her new friend, Swan Savior." he winked.

Chaser stepped up to bat, "Alright, let me show you to the stairs." she still had that monotone voice.

We were in our room and my Pip-Buck was reading 9:00PM so it was night. Capper was removing his trenchcoat and he only had on pants underneath, until he removed those as well. In just boxers, he was a sexy kitty. It was starting to turn me on until I remembered the conversation with Achilles from earlier. "So what did that conversation with your brother really mean? Is he a synth?"

From out of his nether regions yet again, Capper was putting on a silk bathrobe. He looked up at me with a pained look on his face and he put a finger in his mouth, "Well yes. We um…both are."

I took a step back, my eyes widening in shock, "What?! Why didn't you tell me?"

Capper looked down at the floor, "Because I thought you'd react like this. Do you…hate me?"

I sat down on my haunches to take this in. "No…" I finally said. "Can you just explain this to me? How did you get like this?"

"Pre-War…"

* * *

Capper Dapperpaws

 _Pre-War: 29 Years Before The Megaspells_

We were on an airship heading toward Zebricka. Achilles and I were Colonels in the Royal Guard. On the front lines, we were in the battle to keep the zebras out of Equestria. They just kept coming! We took our places, prepared to jump. We were wearing parachutes. Jumping, we sailed through the air, just like on old diving trips off of Neighagra Falls. Now we were here.

I pulled the cord, unleashing my sail. I felt the soft burst then I was floating peacefully, a leaf in the breeze. Don't worry though, because cats land on their feet. My tail as my guide, I kept it pointed straight up. We were the best foot soldiers for this job because of our accuracy. We landed in a small forest of strange jungle trees I'd never seen before. It was worse than the Everfree forest. Did ponies not keep their nature in check here?

That's when we got in a sticky situation. Back to back with my brother, there were zebras coming out of the trees. There were so many of them, I didn't know what was tree and what was zebra. I didn't know what to do. That is, not until my brother darted off, calling, "Follow me!" So I did. There was an opening in the flanks that only he could've seen from his perspective. We just kept going. Then we found it!

It was glorious. Standing tall and proud between two desert sand dunes was a huge temple. There was a sun spiralling around the top spire, carved into the stone. It was like it was made of sand, coming straight from its depths, but made of a different type of stone, something slightly darker. "Should we…should we go inside?" I asked Achilles.

"I think that might be a good idea, don't you?" Achilles smart cracked me. Just his way of agreeing and checking, how we always did.

We opened the doors. There was no way anypony would be able to find this place. It was well hidden and quite a coincidence to run into. It looked ancient from what we saw inside. It had skylights in here, bathing the room in soft sunlight and lit shadows. The floor was tilted, like it was buried at a weird angle or something.

"Look at that," said Achilles. He ran over to a smallish pedestal, and it seemed to have a pressure plate on top. He pushed it with a sly look, like activating a time machine or something.

There it was, the whole wall coming off in a steam of hydraulics. It had been built by ponykind, but what would they be doing all the way out here? There were zebra gliffs all over the place, like we'd ever been friends or something. There was an elevator inside the wall.

I pressed the button to take us down, Achilles smiling the whole time like he had something to prove. The doors came open and a voice said, "Welcome to the Atrium."

"Holy shit." I breathed. "What is that?" I pointed to a pod like device, something with a control board attached by wires.

Achilles went over to it and pressed it. A screen lit up explaining that it was a synthesizer. It created an artificial body for its occupant and transferred its mind to the device. From there it could live in longevity. "Oh boy!" we glanced at each other. "We have to tell Princess Twilight!"

 **OOO**

Taking a sky cruiser, we returned to Canterlot. We landed in port and ran the stairs to make it to the throne room. We entered the antechamber and the doors closed shut behind us with a loud bang. Celestia stood with her head bowed at us, "Colonels." she looked at us over her tall muzzle, and we felt like shrimps in her sight.

"Majesty," I bowed with a flourish. Winking I pulled out a handy glass of chardene. "For you." she giggled.

"You'll never believe what we found, whoop-de-doo." said Achilles, waving a flag in tiny circles.

"And what would that be young Colonel," said Luna. As though cats didn't live forever. We practically had 9 lives!

"We found a secret temple with ancient technology meant to synthesize ponies into beings with immortality." I did finger guns.

Celestia and Luna glanced at each other. "Sister, could it be?"

"No, it's been buried for so long!"

"What. What are we talkin' about here?" I glanced between them, my cute sharp teeth over my lips in confusion.

"Looks like we will have to tell them," said Luna with worry to her sister.

"Dear children," she said to my brother and I. "Long ago there was a war much like this one. My sister and I, well we were forced to open what was called the Institute. We used arcane magicks like beyond anything anypony had ever seen at that time."

"We weren't always alicorns," said Luna. "But with the help of a great friend, Starswirl the Bearded himself, we created what was known as the first synth."

"A prototype if you might imagine it." Celestia laughed. "But we had one goal. To deliver a message and become the protectors of Equestria."

"We were meant to create a land of kindness, friendship and harmony." Luna sounded sad.

"But the only way to do that was become synths ourselves." said Celestia.

"Wait." I pointed between the two of them for effect, "You mean to tell me you swindled Equestria?"

"Well when you put it like that it doesn't sound so good," Luna sounded scared and guilty.

"No, my dear." Celestia frowned, "We saved it. But now we find ourselves here. Again."

"We repeated the mistakes of the past," sighed Luna. "We let everypony down."

"But there is a way to fix it."

"Sister we couldn't."

"We did it for Twilight."

"Wait," Achilles held up his paws. "What are you saying? You're saying Twilight is a synth too? A bucking Biotic?"

"Yes, in a way," Celestia narrowed her eyes. "We want you to use the machine, and become synths too."

"So this is how you made her into an Alicorn?" I asked, "You just magicked her and poof?"

"Yes," Luna nodded for the seemingly umpteenth time.

"I suppose that makes sense, but we aren't ponies." I said.

Achilles grabbed me, "Private bro talk," he hissed. "Capper, are you crazy? You want us to become Biotics?"

"Yes, why not? We helped the ponies, the friends. Now we have to help future ponies."

"Fine. Fine!" Achilles threw up his hands. Turning back to the princesses he said, "We'll do it!"

"Wonderful," said Celestia the way she always did.

 **OOO**

Messengers for Equestria. What a strange way to become immortal. "But what will this do to us?" I asked Celestia.

"You mean the alicorn part?" she asked with a knowing smile, putting another electrode on my head. "Don't worry about it. You may gain powers, you may not. You'll be your same old self."

"That's crazy."

"Yes, it is a little bit." said Luna with her own dark smile, like Nightmare Moon returned. She did not know how to smile.

We let them strap us in and when Celestia turned on the machine on the big green button, it was like hitting a TTD. The doors closed and I felt a powerful burst of magic hit my brain like electricity. Celestia laughed a little outside, like an evil scientist, but she was a good alicorn right? I passed out from the pain.

When I next awakened I saw Achilles outside my pod. He had his arms crossed and he was smiling. "Looks like I win."

"What did you win?" I asked, rubbing my temples.

"I woke up first bro."

"Jeez." I rolled my eyes. "Where are we? Where are the sisters?"

"I'm not sure, it's only been a few minutes." Achilles walked in a pace.

"Oh, a few minutes, like when we were born!" I threw up my hands. "Well come on, we have to find out what's going on. This place doesn't look like an old buried temple. It actually looks refined and technological."

We went upstairs then, lights were flickering and broken, tables flipped over, papers everywhere. Nothing worked and I even saw a few scorch marks in places. No this definitely wasn't Zebricka. There was a room labelled Overseer's office. It sounded like a Stable-Tech thing to say. But it wasn't. I saw Ministry posters everywhere as soon as we entered the room. There was a terminal.

On the screen it read Note From Luna and a play button. "She recorded a message." Achilles stated the obvious.

I played it.

" _By now, if you are listening to this, I am long dead or I would be here in person to say it myself. Capper Dapperpaws, Achilles Heel. You are hearing this because there was a problem with the synthesizers. We had to move you for your safety. The procedure worked, but on what scale we do not know. You are now synths. I have left for you repair kits to keep yourselves in working order. I will leave you with Ministry instructions based on Stable-Tech flyers. Princess Twilight and Spike the Dragon will now read to you."_

" _Are you in Harmony?"_ Came Twilight's voice.

" _H: Helpful. Work together to keep each other safe._

 _A: Artful. In the bad bad wasteland you must be resourceful and stockpile plenty of useful items."_

Spike's voice, " _R: Ready? Are you ready for anything? I came up with that, heh."_ he laughed.

" _M: Magic. Magic is your friend. Your veins now run on it. Arcana is like your stempack. I have prepared a few for you._

 _O: Organized. Finding a team will keep you alive."_

Spike came on, " _N: Naughty. Hehe, it is time to repopulate E…no? O-okay, I'll get off now."_

" _Y: Yikes! Incoming,"_ a few alarms began going off in the recording, " _We don't have much time left. Just remember duck and cover. But not really!"_

" _And this is Pinky Pie! Remember, I'm always watching. I'LL NEVER DIE! I have a sixth sense and I know you have magic. Use it! BYEEE!"_

The recording ended in screaming. We had magic? "That's crazy talk soldier!" Achilles yelled and slapped my shoulder. "Ow." I rubbed it.

The date on the terminal read 10/27/2177. It was 100 years after the megaspells according to the timestamp on the recording. 10/27/2077. We had been in stasis for a hundred years! Everypony we knew were dead! Faust. "What do we do now?" I asked…

After that we were together for awhile, but we drove each other crazy. So we parted ways. Achilles for a strange little island off of Broncston's south coast, and me for well. Double Diamond City. There was some intrigue there. I heard there was a stockpile of Harmony kits. The ones Twilight Sparkle concocted. I didn't know what was there, but I knew one day I would have to find it. That was the day I met Perkins and became a detective. That case had been buried in my unsolved mysteries for a long time.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

It was quite the story, one I hadn't expected. I don't know, seemed a bit sad for this hustler. Might be just as sad as mine. Seems like we'd both lost something. I'd lost Nexus and he'd lost Achilles. But perhaps we could both stand to gain something from this escapade. I had been awake all night thinking about it. We had to talk to Mist Haze as soon as possible. I got up early, letting Capper sleep.

Heading downstairs, I made my way quietly so nopony would hear me, not even Chaser. Colt was she a downer. I got through undetected into a work area. Ponies were busy working on fixing up walls or painting or at workbenches. Meanwhile, I found my mare in a back corner, cleaning up a pile of rubble.

"Gotta keep repairs going or Arcadia comes tumbling down," she was muttering to herself.

"'Scuse me, got a minute?" I asked her.

She looked up at me from under a pair of glasses. Adjusting them she said, "Sure, what's up?"

"What do you know about Achilles?" jump straight to the point, sure Blitzy.

She backed up a couple of hoof steps, groaning and looking like she had stage fright, "Ummm, mmrphh…Did anypony um f-follow you here?" she questioned me.

"No." I said surely.

"Good. Then I guess it's safe to tell you, outsider." she looked around suspiciously. "I was called here by a radio broadcast. But not just any old radio broadcast. I wound up at the Children of Arcana's bunker the moment I got here."

"That's weird, Achilles told me they hate synths, and pretty much anypony else for that matter."

"Yeah, funny thing about it aint it? Well here's my theory. After they ran me out and I got here, I met Achilles. His voice is exactly the same as the one that called me here. Now why would he tell me to go there? Something's not right. Either Arcana has a mole or Achilles has something else going on."

"Sounds like it." I was stroking my muzzle.

"Would you be willing…to um help me find out what?" asked Mist.

"Sure but what do I need to do?"

She glanced over my shoulder. "Chaser's coming! You need to talk to Achilles about them."

"Talk to him about what?" asked the monotone as ever Chaser.

"Nothing much, not that it would concern you." I shot as I moved my way past her to the stairs.

Later, with Capper, we approached his brother. "Achilles, I have a few questions I need to ask you."

"Get on with it then, I don't have all day," Achilles rolled his luminous purple eyes.

"Do you know anything about the Children of Arcana you're not letting on, or why you sent Mist Haze down there?"

Achilles put a hand on his chin, "Not that I know of. Interesting, now why would I do that?" he turned around and sat at a computer. Capper and I crowded behind him.

"Whatcha workin' with?" Capper cracked his knuckles.

"State of the art synth tech. I've stored my memories on this database."

"Why the hell would you do that?" Capper roared.

"So perves like you wouldn't go pokin' around." Achilles rolled his eyes. "Ah, here we are. Interesting…" he tapped a few keys but the computer only gave him error after error. File not found. Oh colt.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Some of the data seems to be corrupt. I can't access it."

"Synth amnesia," Capper rolled his eyes, "Now ya see why you don't go uploading jiz."

Achilles mocked him, "Now ya seh why yah don' go uplooding shih. Get a grip on yourself. You're acting like Wolf. I'm gonna see if I can't track this bad boy. Seems to be some sort of virus or encryption."

Achilles tip tappity away but nothing came of it. I shoved him aside on his spinny rolly chair, "Let me at it, I'm good with a computer." I set my hooves on the smallish keys, meant for paws and not these. Whatever. "Work with me bad boy. I know you can." I sweet talked it, "I'm not familiar, I get it. But we can work together."

"What's he getting at?" Achilles shot to his brother.

"I don't know, I've never seen him work on a computer before."

The code da-dinged and I was in. "The source is coming from the Children of Arcana bunker, an old Royal Navy ship."

"Oh boy." said Achilles.

"What oh boy?" I looked at him. He was rubbing his head.

"That's their main base of operations, their main HQ. It's gonna take a genius plan to get into there."

"Luckily for you I've got one!" came a voice over the intercom.

"Joosh, not now please." Achilles put a hand on his forehead.

"Yes now please. I'm your head scientist."

"You really thought that job was real?"

"Well it looked like you needed help setting this place up now didn't you?"

"Why did I ever think it was a good idea to download your software?" asked Achilles into the air, "Fine! We'll do your stupid plan."

"That's more like it," smiled the white pony behind the glass wall in a small lab I'd just noticed. "Now, the only way in is if you complete one of their island trials. I have just discovered the location of their Mother of Magic idol. It's in a heavily irradiated location and the only way to find it is to enter the Forbidden Forest."

"Forbidden Forest?!" Achilles jumped up. "But that's crazy, it'll kill him!"

"Not if he swindles some Arcana gear first," said Capper with a finger raised and a mission to boot.

"How do you know what that is?" asked his brother.

"I've dealt with some Arcana kids myself in the day. Over in Megaton, yeah. They have some gear meant to keep you alive during exposure, but it'll bring you down a vision quest."

"Vision quest?" I rose a brow. "You want me to get high off of radiation?"

"Sounds like a great plan, want some Psycho to go with it?" asked Joosh from the booth.

"I'm not a big fan of chems." I said, shivering as I remembered the Sight I'd ridden with Mama Madmare. But hey, it hadn't been so bad, maybe just one more time. "I suppose it'll be ok."

"You're crazy, but I guess it looks like I'm mission control for yet another crazy Capper mission." said Achilles, taking his place on a large chair with a headset.

"What's that?" asked the cat.

"I'll log into my servers while you're out scouting. I can chat with you from here, just get the headsets from Chaser." I noticed Chaser had joined Joosh in the booth.

"So now you're plugging your head into computers."

"I've done a hell of a lot worse than that."

"You were a different tomcat when we last parted ways."

"So were you."

* * *

The path was cold, foggy and blue colored. The further in we got, the thicker the fog got and the groggier I was. We needed to find that Arcana gear and fast, my Geiger Counter was exploding and I was losing my mind. I heard hoof steps in the underbrush, and my EFS picked up our targets. They were labelled as neutral. I approached with Capper on my tail.

I guess I could try to take the passive way out and persuade them to help us. Capper could sweet talk a kettle. So I tried. "Hello friends, I'm here to inquire about entrance to your Sanctuary."

There were murmurings from the hooded figures and I got weird vibes from them, including flashbacks to the Circle of Ash and his ashlings. "Come forward initiate. I presume you'd be liking some robes?"

"That'd be great!" I felt and sounded like a foal in a candy store.

"Sorry pal, but we don't sell to strangers." said one mare.

"Yeah, who are you to think we are mere stragglers in the Fog? Mother has given us salvation and I can already see you've chosen your path nightcrawler."

"I hope that's not another type of Cumberland special." I groaned.

Shots rang out, laser pistol ammo, and Capper came in shooting like madman. The Children of Arcana went down like bowling pins, but one fled the group and began to run. "Capper, get him! If he runs, he might tell somepony we're coming!"

"Don't give away the plan," hissed Capper as he fired after the Child of Arcana, but he was gone into the gloom.

"At least we've got these." I started picking at the robes of a corpse, stripping him and putting it on. My Pip-Buck informed me of a new effect: Radiation Friendly: +35 Rad Intake and Arcana Filter. That's when I went from groggy to cheery. "Whoa, Capper, this is weird, put it on!"

"No thanks amigo, you look creepy as hell."

"I think I'm gonna go into the Fog now." I giggled and stumbled off.

"Wait!" Capper called but his shadow had disappeared behind me. That sexy boi.

The woods were crackly and I could've sworn I literally could see static like on an old TV. Buzz buzz went the Fog and my ears were pricked and tuned in. I had never felt like this, one moment floating on air the next gliding over rocks and waste. Mer…I had to go to the bathroom, but I think I should hold it for a long time. I was sleepy, but fully energized at the same time. Was I dying?

 _No…_

Came the voice of the most heavenly mare I'd ever heard. She was beautiful, even if I couldn't see her. I'm so fucking baked. "What was that? Oh, Faust."

 _What? My sister? Oh, she is not here right now my Child. Oh how you've been rejected so. That faithless Goddess has left you high and dry._

"Faust wouldn't do that silly, and who are you and how are you talking to me?"

 _I am Arcana, Mother of Magic. I am here to guide you to salvation, and your Sanctuary._ Her voice was a harp.

"I'll take 3 please," I told her.

 _I've never heard that one before, but you may. Now follow my voice, don't let me fade away or you will be destined to fall out here. I see great potential in you my Trojan Horse, you mustn't fail._

"I won't!" I got up and shot off in a quick gallop. Everything became all shaky and wobbly and the world became a bunch of different hues of blue and green and yellow and misty. I do not think I should've gotten up that fast but I was feeling it, feeling good, and I had to keep going, there was no turning back now. I ran like my life depended on it and maybe it did.

I was beginning to hear things, strange things. Big things chasing after me in the night, the stars up above dancing my funeral march. I was frightened, I was moving, my heart was pounding. That's all I was, a blur and a shadow.

I came to a clearing and time seemed to slow down. I was frozen but moving at the same time. In the center of this clearing was a pool, crystal clear black liquid drizzling inside. I stepped toward it and touched it gingerly. It was soft and cool, and it felt warm and healing. I needed to be in it. I looked up and saw a figure, a black shape. It had arms and legs and it was bathing in the pool.

He was naked, I could see his dong hanging out. I stepped toward him, licking my lips. I wanted him, I felt myself springing up to greet him.

 _That's it. Join me. Join with me! I will show you the light. Glorious light…_

 **Disclaimer: Mature content.**

I found myself pressed against this figure in the mud, it was in every pore and it pressed us closer together. He smiled and ran his tongue along his pointed teeth. I shivered in ecstasy, feeling sharp buzzing running through my veins. I didn't pay attention to the Geiger Counter now, I only let this being strip me. It was heavenly, feeling his hands run along my body. He caressed me in a way nopony had ever done before. I felt lifted and cared about. My spirits were raised when he drew me to his mouth. We kissed and my dong rubbed against his thigh. I felt him mutter against me, shivering.

His hand moved downward and suddenly his was on mine. He was stroking us off together. I moaned in pure bliss, begging for more but my voice was quieted. He laid me down in the pool, and I felt submissive. I never felt this way but he enticed me to it. I lay myself bare for him, everything but dignity removed. He centered his dick on my tailhole and I moaned loud when he pressed it in.

"Fuck, yes!" I gasped and he smiled, letting himself enter me. I felt good, so good and tripping. Was this even real? I couldn't be sure but I didn't want it to end. I lifted my pony legs up, holding them at the joints and careful not to hit him in the head.

"Do you like it my Child?" he asked me in a sly voice. It was somehow familiar but my head was beating to the time of his pound.

"Yesss…gah!" I spat in godly protest. He shoved it all the way in, balls deep if you can picture it the way I could. Colors flashed, all around me my eyes were floating in a sea of wonderland and orgasm and happiness. I saw myself throbbing, my rod, and out came the white stuff. "Mmmmerrr," I purred for him, heart racing in every which direction. I had been filled with adrenaline but now I knew I was screwed, figuratively and literally. I wasn't high anymore. What had happened? What had I done?

The cat popped out.

* * *

"Holy fucking shit _Ravager Blitzfire!_ " gasped Capper as he came out of the woods. He was buckling his pants and adjusting his trenchcoat.

I had just finished wiping cum and mud off my vest and stuff. "We did that right?" I blushed at him.

He leaned down and touched my cheeks, "Yes we did. I guess this means you still love me?"

"Yeah, I never stopped." I smiled.

"Good, kuz I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." he purred. "Guess what I found?"

"What's that?"

"I think all the horseplay paid off, because somepony got himself a treasure," Capper waggled a statuette in my face. The Mother of Magic idol!

"By Faust, look at that!" I snatched it from his paws. "She spoke to me you know, but I never thought she'd be so ugly."

"Now that's just offensive," said Capper. "No, just kidding. She's like that because radiation turned her into a ghoul."

"So these buggers worship literal arcana burst?" I rose a brow. "I thought they were crazy enough to worship unusable magical residue, but not actual fucking radiation. Don't they know that could kill them?"

"You'd think so, but a bomb the size of Fat Pony went off in Megaton 50 years ago. Killed all of them and the townsfolk, and nopony batted an eye. The Children of Arcana are obviously still at large."

"Well fuck me."

"Already did." Capper winked and gave me a peck.

"Shove it."

We bantered and walked like that for a few hours.

* * *

Imagine the biggest boat you can think of and amplify that times ten. This was the U.S.S. Chrysalis Cruiser, Celestia's First Class Navy Battleship. It was the size of two cities. Make that three and five seasons. We walked to the entrance, old sanitizing stands run down and useless like busted streetlamps at intervals on the driveway. It was in a little well tended grove, Zen Garden I assume. There were ponies at the gates, a tall fellow with a golden robe on and two short ones with the standard black.

"Why hello there traveller." spoke the tall one. "My name is Priest Sundance. Welcome to Sanctuary. What is your business here?" he rose his eyebrows. That kinda guy hm?

I moved forward, reaching into my vest and prepared to withdraw the idol, when about 10 unseen guns focused directly on me. "Steady now," said Sundance.

I snickered nervously, shoulders shaking, "Wouldn't dream of any funny business," my voice cracked. That's when I felt warm liquid drizzle down my crotch and onto my back legs. "Well buck."

"Hey, shortstop," Capper nudged me with an amused chortle, "you peed yourself."

"I've had to go since Arcadia," I said through gritted teeth angrily until I finally stopped pissing on the lawn like a dog. "And I got scared."

"I think it's cute." Capper shrugged.

"Into it?" I blushed and shot the smile back.

"What is that you have there," Sundance's eyes widened. "We have been searching for that for ages! Come Child, come! You must be welcomed into our inner sanctum at once!"

I guess seeing somepony piss themselves was something they saw every day with so much radiation worship.

 _(So, Capper's a synth! So's Twi and Celestia and-oh you get it. Pretty clever way to create the baseline for the Fallout 4 plot, huh? No wonder they're all immortal beings! Anyway, just want to say his flashback scene is one of my favorite things ever written. Especially the recording at the end. I love Spike XD and "Y: Yikes!" Gets me every time. Are you in Harmony?_

 **Brohoof /)**


	9. Chapter 9 Memoirs of a Grimoire

_(Note: So I reimagined the whole Children of Atom on the boat thing in Far Harbor, and how they would present themselves in a MLP world. It gets a bit hectic but don't worry. I'm not sure I knew what I was doing with this chapter but it gets better. :3 )_

 **Chapter 9** Memoirs of a Grimoire

"Now what's this," I asked the woman in the veil. She was wearing red with sparkly gold dripping off it like rain. I rubbed my amulet that hung around my neck ever since I'd found it. I think that although it was rather feminine, it did look quite good on me! Still, I had to wonder what it meant.

In regards to my question, the mare lifted up a stick of what looked like candy, licorice. "It's a chem, a sugar stem. Or what it's more well known as, sugarcane." She smiled and her eyes glittered.

"Oh god," my eyelids fluttered, "it sounds amazing."

"Good," and she proceeded to pop it in my muzzle. She let her hoof trail around the inside of my lips, very tenderly and suggestively.

I shuddered and pushed her hoof out of my mouth. I chewed the sugarcane stick and swallowed, "Oh no," I told her, hoof on hers, "I'm gay and taken."

"Oh?" she giggled behind a fan.

"Yeah." her face began to become all wavy and I blinked slowly, "My, what is going on?"

"What do you mean," she frowned in concern.

"You're…all…wavy!" my voice was slow and deep like a billy goat. Oh my goodness! She was so pretty. "I think you're great." I laughed like a hyena.

"You're great!" she said like a snake. That's when she suddenly became one. Like a spring she sproinged and oh colt.

"Whoa," I burped. My EFS said [CAUTION] and I lost my mind in hysterics. "Ahahahaha!" I kicked my legs and held tightly to my stomach. "Why are you doing this?"

She became a beautiful creature, her robes becoming a tunic, and a belly dancing mare appeared out of the fog. "I can grant you but 1 wish. Use it wisely my wonderful gay friend." she handed me something then, a gem. It was so pretty and sparkly. A rock that glowed like a brilliantly flashing rainbow. Red, Orange, Yellow and Green. Blue, Indigo and Purple.

"Wow, what is that?" I smiled like a party clown. My eyes were big and round and filled with wonderment.

"It's a wish in the form of a diamond. I'll put it with your necklace, they go well together and it's important you don't forget that." she set it in next to the Moon Stone. The Wishing Star my EFS said. It fit perfectly.

"Now what?" I smiled like a filly.

"Now, you drink." said the mystical mare. She handed me a cup of amber liquid. I sniffed at it like a dog.

"What's in this stuff," I grimaced. It smelled horrible and I didn't think it could possibly taste good.

"It tastes amazing, it's directly from the Amber Fruit Herself. She's very brave. And she has welcomed you into her graces." I took the cup and she smiled like a snake.

"You're a sneky snek." I winked at her and hiccuped. "Will I get too meet this pretty lady?"

"Yessss," she hissed in a cool breeze whisper. "But only if you drink Her passion fruit."

"Okie," I giggled like a little colt. I gulped it in one go like a shot, even though the glass was large and volcano shaped. "Oh my," I nodded and licked my lips, "It is good!" and then the world went black. "Strong stuff," I said just before I passed out on the carpet of the gypsy den.

"Goodnight."

* * *

Capper Dapperpaws

"Where's my friend?" I asked in a vicious tone.

"Now now, you don't have to be upset," said the Grand Priest with one hoof raised and the billowy robes hanging below like a carpet.

"Put that thing away, it's offensive," I waved him off in disgust.

"No need to be rude Capper. Your friend is on the path of enlightenment, just as you can be."

"Okay, then let's get this show on the road," I flourished my sleeves to adjust them. _Steady now boy. No need to get your britches in a knot._

"Good!" the Priest grinned. He turned around quickly and I followed him down a metal path. "I'm going to take you to the Auxiliary control room."

It was huge. It was also small and protected by guards who nodded us in like bouncers. We entered and the computers blipped to life. He sat me in front of one. "Go on, this is our people's greatest honor."

I pressed the button and it said WELCOME. I pressed enter and it scrolled through a feature of data files. They were all labelled, 'Achilles Memory File.' Oh boy. They were his memories! The ones we had set out to find. "I have to go see Blitzy now." I shot out of my chair. The Priest smiled and bowed his head to me.

"Very well. Right this way."

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

I woke up with a racing heartbeat and a cold sweat. There was a mare near me, applying cool oils that smelled of mint and lavender. It was interesting and strong. I squirmed, "Wha-what?!"

"Do not be alarmed. I am here to help you." her voice was cool, like a breeze on a summer's day, or a sip of cider in autumn when the apples were at their most fresh.

"Who are you?" my voice cracked.

"I am the Earth Mother. I control the ways of Nature just as Celestia and Luna controlled the motions of the Sun and Moon." she smiled down at me and her rather long arm lifted and her hoof met my chin. "It is a very rare occurrence for one to meet me so soon."

"Okay?" I looked up at her and I saw her fully for the first time. In fact, it wasn't a her in the first place. He was a stallion, and he was beautiful. He was orange and he glew like the Sun. He had swirling gold in his fur, like ornaments and decorations. It was a beautiful Niponese pattern. His cutie mark was a swirling sun with points along its edges to signify rays. "Oh my Faust," I gasped. Did I forget to mention the beautiful majestic wings on him you only saw on gods, or god like beings, alicorns? His horn was tall and beautiful. He had two though, one on his forehead, kinda small and stubby.

"I am Prince Alistair of Cumberland Island." he smiled.

"What's going on?"

"All will be explained soon." He smiled.

Capper Dapperpaws

I couldn't believe I'd just seen the storage room for where my brother's memories were being kept. It was like a secret treasure cove. It was freaky and a bit creepy. I had to find a way to get them. I could transfer them to Blitzfire's Pip-Buck and then once we were back in Arcadia, I could put them in memory sphere's where they belonged.

The Grand Priest led me to the Great Hall, the maze of bridges and walkways containing beautiful Zen Gardens and mechanics of which you've never dreamed. It didn't leave much to the imagination and for once that was a good thing. I was walking through a flower garden the one moment, seeing and talking to singing flowers, and then through a magic mushroom patch with red and white polka dotted mushrooms. The Priest said, "This is where I must leave you. From here you must prove yourself worthy by making it out in one piece."

"Or should he say, with your head," said a rather deep voice. I turned to ask the stallion what he meant but instead found a small blue pony.

"Who are you?" I asked him, confused.

"I am Little Pone Blue. But you stole my line. Who…are…you?" he said deliberately slowly.

"Oh boy," I put a hand on my head, "This is crazy," I said to him.

"Of course it's crazy." that's when the little colt popped a piece of candy into his mouth.

"What's that?" I asked, but I didn't have time to find out. Just then a little white bunny hopped by. He was bitching and moaning to himself about being late.

He had a high pitched voice and he was chanting, "I'm late, I'm late, I'm very very late! No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm very very late!" he was holding onto a golden pocket watch that was much too big to fit into any of his pockets. Wait, pockets? He was wearing a coat! It was very strange to say the very least.

I rose a brow and turned to the blue pony but he was gone. In his place was a table instead of a mushroom and behind me the Zen Gardens were gone. Instead I found myself on a tiled floor. The table was glass.

"I'm late! I'm late! I'm very very late! God dammit!" the bunny cussed to himself. One of his ears was folded. He hopped up to a door just his height and he knocked on it.

"Ahem, *cough, cough*, yes yes, excuse me, dearest me!" he wheezed. He sounded rather old but then again he was an ornate knob.

"Please let me through or I swear to Faust I'm gonna skewer you with a key." The rabbit pointed a paw at it, a finger, with a sharpened claw on the end.

"Okay, okay! Just give me a moment. Yes yes, there we go." then the doorknob smiled, "Off on royal business are we?"

"Of course I am! Now excuse me I must go see the Queen Fluffles."

The rabbit hopped off into sweet victory with the key and meanwhile the door clicked shut, locked once more.

"Hey, hey now! What's the big idea," I brushed myself off, then stepped up to the door. I came to realize, I was much too tall to even think I could fit in there. But like a cat in a box, I would definitely think to try.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"Now, sweet pony, what is it you seek, and I shall see if I can't help you find it," Alistair was standing proudly before me while I just sat back on my haunches in front of him. I wondered if this is how Princess Twilight must've felt when she was first approached by the Princess herself, Celestia, and I wasn't even a unicorn! I felt I might pee myself again.

"I am looking for a friend's memories, any way you could help me find them?"

"Oh?" he rose an eyebrow, "Really now? I may just know a place."

"Perfect!" I nodded, "Can you take me there?"

"Oh, I'm afraid no can do. You see, you have not gone through the greatest test."

"What's that?"

Alistair smiled and winked at me with a nod of his oversized head, "You must first complete a task for me."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" I asked with a just as smart look as he'd given me.

"You must pair up with another member of the Children of Arcana to help bring down an evil being. Then, you can obtain the device to help the Children power up their fog condensers."

"That sounds freaky, I don't know if I wanna be apart of your cirque de freakpone." I had a disgusted scowl for that one.

"Well you must! Lest you forget you've been chosen by the gypsy, lucky wish boy," Alistair was ecstatic.

"Okay, I'll do it, but where's Capper?" I narrowed my eyes.

"He's just undergoing his first test." Alistair laughed. These people were psychotic.

* * *

Capper Dapperpaws

I knocked on the wooden door and the doorknob coughed awake. "Oh? Wh-what is it? Who's there?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that, dog?" I sniffled my whiskers with a twitch of my nose.

"My, it seems you are too big to fit." said the knob.

"How do I get smaller?"

The doorknob laughed, "Oh, that my friend is simple." a dinner bell rang and the doorknob said, "Tea time!"

On the table above, I could see through the glass that a coffee cake in a doily wrapper had appeared. It was just sitting there. "Oh, but how am I supposed to get up there?"

"Just drink the tea," the doorknob smiled and gestured toward the cup now sitting at the base of the table.

"Oh boy. What are they? Drugs, amigo?"

"No!"

"I think I recognize contraband, amigo, from my bootleggin' days." I winked at him and moved toward the cup. There was a tag on it that said "Drink me". "Okay, here goes." I lifted the glass like a toast and taking it like a shot, I drank it all down. Boom! Suddenly I was growing bigger and I could feel it in my gut. Oh colt! I was towering above the table then, the door far below.

"Now how do I get back down?!" I called.

"Eat the cake!" yelled the door.

It was labelled "Eat me." I picked it up and took a bite. I began to shrink and then blam! I was door sized. "You can fit now!" chuckled the door.

I reached for the knob, but just as I turned it I realized it was still locked. The handle clicked in protest. The doorknob looked up to the table, "You forgot the key."

"Oh colt, now how am I supposed to get up there? I drank all the Drink me drink."

"Don't worry, see for yourself."

Behind me the drink was back. I smiled and took a swig. Whoa! I was there, just at table height, and thank goodness I hadn't eaten all the cake either. I grabbed the key and ate another bite, shrinking down to just the right side. "Thank the Queen," said the door, "the last person down here cried a Pool of Tears."

"Oh boy," I grinned and turned the brass key. I was out.

And straight into a patch of wild flowers. "What's happening?" I asked aloud.

Take a little trip and don't go back, because our roots hold us down right here in the grass!

It's a treat yes indeed, all the fertilizer you need,

You'll be healthy right here in the Sun!

There were singing flowers! It was real and this was happening. I stepped toward the largest rose. "Hello y'all, let me introduce myself. I am Dapperpaws. Capper Dapperpaws. Why don't you tell me a little about yourselves?"

"I am the Rose Garden Keeper." said the rose.

"What are you?" asked a Tiger Lily.

"Me? Well, I'm a cat!"

"A cat?" cried some of the ladies, "I have never heard of such a preposterous thing!"

"He's a weed!" someone pointed fingers, or leaves, "Kill him!"

"Wait, ladies, no, you got me all wrong!" I cried and ran.

"And stay out!"

I came running into what looked like an old wood. There was a sign. It was labelled Tulgey Wood. Huh, strange name. I was wearing a robin hood hat and I flicked it to keep it safely attached to my head. I came to a tree with an overhanging branch and a fork in the road. Literally and figuratively. "Hello?" I put my paw on my chin. "I wonder which way he went."

"Which way who went?" said a deeply sickening and charming voice.

"The White Rabbit," I said. I looked up to see a cat in the tree, one much like me, just sitting there with his legs crossed. He was purple, his belly solid colored and fluffy, the rest of him was covered in striped, pink and purple candy cane stripes. His eyes were yellow and he had tufts of fur in his ears. His smile was like no other.

"Oh! He went that away," the cat pointed in both directions.

"He went which way?" I flipped a paw to show the pad side as a gesture.

"Who went what way?" the cat blinked.

"Oh, this is crazy!" I facepalmed.

"We're all mad here," the cat smiled wickedly from ear to ear and vanished into thin air.

"What just happened!?" I gasped.

The stripes appeared, twirling round and round to form the shape of a neko. "Oh, you there. Like I said, we're all mad here. As you can see, I'm not all there myself!" the cat pointed behind himself to indicate his slowly forming body.

"Look pal, can you just tell me where I need to go?" I asked him.

"Sure! There's a tea party he's bound to go hopping past eventually. It's down that way," the cat pointed to my right.

"Thanks! See ya later!" I waved as I jogged off down the path.

"Suit yourself," the cat shrugged and in a flash of hearts he was gone, but I was too far down the path to notice.

I came to a garden gate, one covered in red roses. Oh great. I opened it and it creaked invitingly. Many hands and hooves had grazed this gate. There was a dining table on the front lawn of a rather crooked house wearing a hat. "What in Faust's name?" I stared open jawed at the scene. A white pony in a wine red hat was pouring tea into a set of three tea cups stacked atop the last. He was serving a greyish whitish bunny with a twitch in the left side of his body. Meanwhile, a mouse ran to and fro between the mismatched tea sets. There was room for plenty but there were only these three.

"Oh! A happy happy unbirthday, happy happy unbirthday! A happy happy unbirthday to you, and you!" yelled the stallion in a hat.

"Unbirthday?" I asked, approaching. "What are you going on about, colt?"

"Well it's my unbirthday you see," he had a deep and goofy voice, and his eyes were googly, going in all directions. His tongue hung out of his mouth as they spun.

"You can't have an unbirthday fellow," I slid a paw toward him through the air, "or at least celebrate it."

"Of…course you can…" said the rabbit.

The mouse popped out of a tea kettle, the lid flying through the air, carrying a piece of pie, "Tum Tum Berry Pie?" he asked in a shrill voice.

"Look, who are y'all people, and mind tellin' me what's going on here?" I asked.

The white stallion stood up and climbed atop the table. He looked glorious with his white mane shining beneath that rather large silly cap. Then he smiled at me. "I am the Mad Poner and this is your first test! Catch me!" he yelled and jumped off the table.

I furrowed my eyebrows, completely confused, but he just kept falling. Into the grass, deeper and deeper it went like it was never ending, until he just ended up right back on the table. "You have passed your first test!" yelled the Mad Poner maniacally.

"I'm late for Faust's sake!" came a loud hollering. It was the squealing of that insufferable rabbit. He pulled the pocket watch out once more.

"Oh! Bread?" the Marching Hare grabbed for the watch to the complete horror of the White Rabbit. "Needs butter don't it?" Like a toy soldier, he marched all the way across the table to where the Door Mouse was about to commence eating a large stick of butter. "Mine!" he grabbed it up and with a butter knife two sizes too small he spread the whole stick on the watch.

"What in Fluffles' name?! You madman!" yelled the rabbit. He was bouncing up and down trying to reach the watch.

Meanwhile, the Mad Poner sat back in his throne like chair with a look of content on his face, looking on in amusement. "Aren't you gonna do somethin'?" I asked behind a paw.

"My, my, no! Well, maybe! I think yes!" Poner jumped up and raced across the table. He scampered past the Door Mouse who had been making a quick escape and he stood there spinning in place like a cartoon. Poner grabbed the watch and handed it to the rabbit. "Kind sir."

"Stupid bitch." the White Rabbit took it and made his way off. "10 minutes fast!"

"Does anything make sense around here, mi amigo?" I furrowed my coat as I made with haste after him. The Mad Poner waved me off.

Into the thick of the Tulgey Wood I went, where it only grew darker and darker. Banshee wind howled through the thistle and thorn, making me shiver. The trees were red, like they were covered in blood. The leaves were purple, like nightshade. For a second I even though I saw a face in one of those trees. _Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!_

"Who…are…you?" I crashed into the Little Pone Blue, who had just appeared to ask me just that question.

I got myself together, "You startled me."

"Looking…for…something?" he asked in that slow demeanor of his, chewing on another piece of candy.

"I…don't honestly know," I rubbed my head.

"Watch out…for Thornwood." he slowly disappeared into the fog of the Tulgey, his tail bobbing along with him.

I twiddled my toes in the dust, trying to snap myself out of this dream. It was a delusion, nothing more, and perhaps there was a way out. But as I had learned a long time ago, there was no taking the easy way out. My toe stubbed on something and I cursed. I grabbed my foot and hopped around for a second, then I noticed what I had hit.

Picking it out of the grass, I noticed it was a sign. It read, "The Thistles of Thornwood." I glanced around, feeling unsettled, then I dropped the sign and headed into the fog. This fog was strangely reminiscent of something else. But there was no time to think as I came out of the thistles and into a small town. Ponies wandered about, looking bemused and befuddled. None of them seemed to know what they were up to.

One sauntered up to me, "Excuse me kind sir, but are you lost?"

"Um? No?" I scratched my head.

"Oh. Well, I am."

"Good for you," I moved past him. I saw the White Rabbit disappearing into a crowd. I tried to make my way toward him but as soon as I got into the square I was drawn down a different current of ponies. I was shoved toward a candy shop.

"Are you lost?" asked a kindly voice.

I turned to face an older stallion, "Why does everypone keep asking me that, hermano?"

"I'm afraid we're all lost, but you seem the most lost of all. Why not come in?" he gestured for me to enter and so I did. It was an emporium for sweets and delights that would make any kitty's mouth water. And mine was. I took off my hat and held it to my chest, feeling it against my chest plume. The old stallion drew me in deeper.

There were clocks on the wall but they were all made of candy. Yet they ticked on. One looked oddly familiar, like a cat. The purple one I had seen earlier? I was leaning in and the old stallion grabbed me, "My name is Chronos. I'm afraid I've lost track of time. So I have resigned myself to making candy instead. It keeps things moving around here."

Candy equals time here. Alright. Was the kitty clock further away than before? "Would you like a sample?" he asked me, holding up a chunk of what could be chocolate.

I backed away, toward the wall with clocks. "Um, no thanks." I bit my lip, and he held up more candy, "But I insist" I was still shaking my head when I reached behind me, thinking I'd come to a dead end, the wall. Instead I was caught by a cat.

"My, we meet again." I looked up at him. "Call me Chess," he smiled smoothly, something I could get on board with. "Watch out!" he yelled and I swooped, narrowly avoiding my death by train.

"Where are we?" I spun around, realizing we were on a train platform. A lantern was aglow with a flickering flame. The last train had left the station and everything outside the radius of the lamp was dark.

"The train of thought," smiled Chess, "Platform 9 and ¾."

"Fancy that," I nodded.

"The next thot comes in, oh, say, now?" the cat shoved me and when I turned my head, instead of a train there was an oncoming rabbit's foot!

"What now?" cried the White Rabbit.

"Rabbit's foot for good luck?" I questioned him as I set him upright by his left foot.

"That's my unlucky foot." he scowled at me, "Keeps me from getting places on time if you ask me."

"Everypony seems to have lost track of time around here." I told him. Patting him on the head to his great dismay and embarrassment, I asked, "Need some help fella?"

"Who's asking?" he looked up at me, daring me to point out that everyone asks who I am around here.

"The friend you need." I smiled, loving that line.

"A friend indeed." he harrumphed. "Well, if you must, right this way. I'm sure I'll get somewhere on time with you tagging along." he sarcastically said, and threw up his hands.

"I'm sure we'll get somewhere indeed," I looked over my shoulder, feeling as though I still had Chess along for the ride.

 _(So there's that. I rather enjoy everything Wonderland and since it's meant to be trippy anyway, I thought a bunch of radiation freaks would like it too. You'll find out what's going on soon enough but for now, hope you enjoyed the madness. ;)_

 **Brohoof** **/)**


	10. Chapter 10 Between the Raindrops

_(Note: We're finally right up to the point we've been waiting for all along, but there's a couple more tests our heros need to go through first. And before we get started there's an important piece to the past that's going to be revealed.)_

 **Chapter 10** Between the Raindrops Ravager Blitzfire

 _Pre-War: 12 Years Before The Megaspells_

"I've been riding the aftershock, just like you." I told Nexus. He was pacing back and forth. For the last month he'd been doing nothing but pace, looking for new ways to contact her. She had been allusive.

"Have you now? I've been running this operation for about 2 years and she has the gall to one up me?" he stopped and stamped a hoof.

"I'm sure she's busy. The last message she sent she said she was concocting yet another plan to infiltrate the Mezzanine."

"Yeah and has she done it yet? No! Because she's incompetent."

"Don't talk like that," I put a hoof over his shoulder, "you'll only stress yourself out more."

He looked at me with dreary eyes. I could see the last two years had taken a toll on him. He was overworked and exhausted. From the light bill to the dust in the corners where all the staff had quit two months ago, he felt he had to do all the work not even one workhorse could muster. I'd come to the office in the morning to see him still tip tapping away at the terminal, sending off one email or another.

"We all want to work on this war effort the best we can for Stable Tech University, but if you keep this up, you won't be any use to anypony." I put both hooves on his shoulders and reared him back to look him straight in those beautiful neon green eyes of his.

My problem was no matter how hard he worked, I still couldn't bring myself to tell him. He needed a break, and so did I. He'd been hunting for this thing for about as long as I could remember, even before the company. Who's to say it even existed? I had wanted for about 2 or 3 months now to tell him to call it all off, it'd be best for both our sakes if we did. We could get back to the project we'd been dreaming of, perhaps pass our class finally.

Something stopped me every time.

He sighed heavily, "I can see what this is doing to you."

"What's that?" I perked up.

"You're right."

"I'm right about what?" He moved off, toward his desk, hoof hovering over the power off switch of his terminal.

"You would be right if you'd just come out and say it." Nexus breathed. "That I'm crazy, this is killing us and it's no use to anypony. What was I thinking?"

"It's not like that!" I put a hoof on his shoulder to comfort him but he shrugged me off. "It's more like, if we focus on one thing too long, it becomes meaningless. Where there could be opportunity somewhere else instead."

"Opportunity. Yeah, right." he rolled his eyes and his hoof got even closer to the off button. "Wait!" his eyes lit up. I don't think I'd seen that much life in them since he'd first thought of this crazy fiasco. His computer blipped. Another email?

He opened it, a rodent pouncing on the cheese of a mouse trap. "Praise Faust! Blitzfire, you're a grade A genius."

"For what?"

"Opportunity!" he clicked a link in the email, bringing us to a video.

" _If you, good friend, are watching this, then watch to the end. Perhaps cliche, but time is a trebuchet, hurling fast, to me way past. Soon I will die, but not before loose ends I tie."_

Zecora.

* * *

 _Present Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

I opened my eyes, realizing much of what I had witnessed had been dreamlike. It felt too real to be fake though, that much I knew. I stroked the Wishing Star, knowing it to still be there. Then the Moon Stone. Sundance led me down a long narrow corridor. He was quiet, and in the distance I could hear ominous singing. A sorrowful song, but full of praise and worship.

A sign above the door had been painted over to read "Worship Hall." When we entered I noticed right away it was the Mess Hall, transformed into a large cathedral. Ponies were in here chanting, most of them looking like rotting corpses. The weirdest thing of all was that none of the Priests appeared to be affected by the same ailments at all.

We went to a door hidden behind the podium. I glanced at the minispell pinned to the wall behind the preacher. He was praying as his disciples sung.

"Come," said Sundance. "Meet the Golden One."

Behind a shroud of beads we emerged into a den. Mares had draped themselves over a rather fat stallion whilst he gorged himself on Dandy Colt Apples. Behind him a tattered poster of Pinkie Pie was vandalized with writings of Mother Magic. "My name, is Equesticles." said the fat one, smirking. Sundance bowed.

"Great." I stuck my tongue out. The mares giggled like school fillies. They looked young enough to be in school. _Pervert._

Equesticles glanced longingly at something Sundance was keeping concealed. He licked his lips and the latter looked quite uncomfortable. "Now what do you make of that? Matching jewelry."

Sundance cleared his throat. "Whatever do you mean, Your Grace?"

"Kindly show the _Overseer_ your bling." said Equesticles. I didn't like the way he stated my title. How did he even know I was a Stable Overseer?

Sundance lifted a hoof to withdraw an ornament from his robes. A blazing orange stone connected to a gold chain. He was blushing and flustered. "Sir, why—?"

"Silence!" he yelled and shot a hoof out. I didn't know his arms could unbend. But he sent the fillies away with such haste that the very air grew still and cold in their absence. "Now, these three objects are of such importance when connected with this," he held up the Mother of Magic Idol. I noticed at her hooves were three holes. How hadn't I seen that before?

"What do you command of me?" asked Sundance.

"Take his stones!" roared the monster.

I should've known this was a trap! I dodged easily, rolling to the side and coming up a few feet away. Too bad they took my weapons at the front door. I never parted with my revolver, but I didn't think this was the time for a gun fight. The big one seemed to want something from us, perhaps merely to provide entertainment, or maybe something more. I didn't know but I knew one thing for certain, I was going to come out on top.

I rose to my hind legs, holding up my hooves in fists. "Bring it on."

Sundance swung at me but I dodged, then came back with my own one-two. I hit him square in the face, drawing first blood. All the while, the slug was watching with no expression. He didn't even pause to eat. I missed the second blow and Sundance rose his hooves higher. He was guarding his face but he left his guts wide open. He wasn't a very good fighter.

I punched him square in the diaphragm and he gave out a big "Oof!" he toppled like a house of cards and I stood over him. While he was wheezing, I stooped and clambering back to all four hooves and regaining my balance, I retrieved what my EFS labelled as the Sun Concordance.

There was clopping, hooves against diamond plating. Equesticles was applauding me. He also hit a button and a trap door opened to drop Sundance to Faust knows where. "Well done. You passed my test."

"What's going to happen to him?" I glanced at where the trap door was, well hidden.

"Oh don't worry about him," he waved it off like it was nothing more than the candied apples he was eating. "He'll just be undergoing some more, shall we say, rigorous training due to his failure here today."

"What do you want with me?" I asked, taking a step closer. I knew I had to get my hooves on that statuette.

"In due time," he smiled gluttonously.

Sinful by nature were the high priests of this churchgoing society…

* * *

Capper Dapperpaws

Chess was standing by a short stallion who appeared to be a king by his brocade and diamond plated malet. The Queen was quite obvious. She was tall and her hair flowed in an unseen wind. Her robes were long and gorgeous, like the jewels that dripped off her.

"The Queen Fluffles, heiress to the Spades throne." the White Rabbit bowed immediately even though the Queen was not paying any attention. She was busily enjoying herself with a game of croquet.

The purple cat was beside me, paws on my arm. "Thisss…way." he hissed in my ear and my fur stood on end.

There was a stone pathway that led into a hedge maze. There were roses in every inch of the bushes, all black. The further in we went, the more the roses appeared to be dripping and melting. That was odd. That's when I noticed it was paint.

"Not paint, but the water from the pool of magic." said Chess.

"You believe in this garbage?" I rose a brow at him as we stopped at a fountain.

"I believe what I want to believe." he smiled wickedly at me. I loved the way he smiled. "Follow me, if you want to live that is." then he disappeared once more.

There was a castle up ahead. Behind me I could hear yelling. The sky darkened and blood began to pour from the fountain. "Find him! I want to sap the magic from his veins!" it was the Queen. I heard shuffling, like paper rubbing against paper. I saw tall cards, all with faces at the top. They carried spears and swords, even guns! I ran as fast as I could.

 _ **We're painting the roses black! We're painting the roses black! Get in from the back, get in from the front, we're painting the roses black!**_

 _ **The Queen decree, that we shall be, drained and deceased until we're free. Free from what? Free from her glut! As we paint the roses black.**_

 _ **Black is for the life force, black is for the source. Source of hmm, may ask you? Pity be, the source that's true! It's you, it's me, it's what she decree! We're painting, the roses,**_

 _ **BLACK!**_

I ran and ran until I came to a stone staircase. At the very top was a stone door. I busted my tail trying to reach the top but it seemed they went on forever. Then a paw grabbed mine, "Don't forget, we're not all there," said Chess enticingly into my ear. His lips brushed mine before we reached the door and it felt like he'd sucked my breath away. Not in a good way.

I fell through the door, hitting the ground hard and hoping it was all over. I was coughing, feeling as though I was choking. I was! I was coughing up blood and I rose my paws to find myself trapped in a glass sarcophagus. I had tubes attached to me. They were draining me! My aracana!

I should've realized the real reason the Children of Arcana hated synths so much. Because we represented what they could not have. Magic in their veins, a true gift from their goddess.

"Well you can tell your goddess to stuff it!" I yelled, tasting something foul in my mouth, the taste of my blood tainted with their radiation. I had been on a trip, down the rabbit hole, or so I had thought. It was all an illusion to keep me from seeing the real truth. "The truth hurts, don't it?" I shouted as I beat against the glass. "Fuck, let me out!"

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

There was a bank of computers behind the slug pony and as he garbled out of the way, I saw that it required a key. "There was no way we could access these without your help." said he. "Only the chosen one can see the gypsy and be bestowed upon one wish. Only the chosen one could defeat the Red Death, something we created. And only the chosen one, you if you're not seeing the point, could've shown the goddess enough devotion to please her in her own life essence the way you did with your kitty cat. That's what got you the idol." the nasty ass perverted brat was laughing at me having sex with Capper! Had he seen the whole thing? What the buck?

"And Sundance?" I asked through gritted teeth, just needing to play this charade a little longer.

"Oh, anypony could beat Sundance. He sucks." Equesticles laughed out loud, booming all around the room.

"Of course." I knew he had no talent but hearing it from the lips of this frog made me feel a little less competent.

"Now, you know what to do if you want to access the synth's memories." Equesticles was smiling and licking his lips.

I took the idol from him and set it into the slot on the main terminal. It was a USB inserting into a port. The stones were like access cards. The Wishing Star shimmered unlike the other two as I pressed them into place. The Sun Concordance felt warm to the touch like inside it burned a thousand flames. The Moon Stone was freezing cold. The computer screen lit up and files flicked past. A helm came down. I looked at Equesticles but he had nothing to say. In fact, he had left the room.

"Here goes nothing." I pulled the helmet down and fastened it to my head. There was a whir of energy and something popped out of the top, an arm. It injected something into my neck. It stung and I felt groggy. "Ooh…" I fell to the floor.

* * *

Achilles Heel

There was something strange going on. I was still me. This was like seeing a memory from an orb but at the same time I was me. In front of me lie aforementioned orbs. Dozens of them! " _Security breached, code blue."_ Comforting to know this had security. Blue didn't sound so bad.

The orbs were laid out in a maze, pathways like neural connections. Ponybots drifted past, the firewalls guarding the entrances to each memory. I lifted my gun, seeing Nexus' revolver in my paw. My paw! I was Achilles, yet I was also me. I felt sick. There was something off putting about not experiencing this as though I was the person remembering it. The magic had been damaged, thrown off. Something was getting in the way and it was more than just security. Achilles Heel really did not want anypony to see what he intended to forget.

I moved forward along the first pathway to where a set of boxes blocked the way to the first orb. I could easily climb over the boxes, especially in this slick cat body, if not for the ponybots. Perhaps I could wait for it to circle back around on its route then grab the sphere. Perfect! That's exactly what I did and I managed to get to the memory orb just in time. The memory started…

* * *

Capper Dapperpaws

 _You're bound to get somewhere if you only walk long enough…_

I had been hearing voices in my head for the past hour. I had already removed the tubes from my brain but there was nopony around to let me out of this tank. I was startin' to think enough was enough and wanted out of this joint. Maybe I should start listening to the voices. So I took one step forward. My toe stubbed against the door, I'm pretty sure I knew that was gon' happen. But then I noticed there was a latch down there.

I pulled it and the tank hissed open. Please tell me it was not that simple, kuz I'd been stuck in here for what seemed like forever, fool. I rolled my eyes and pushed my way out. _There, you've finally gone and done it haven't you?_

"Who are you?" I asked to nopony in particular.

" _You see, when they uploaded you to the Wonderland server, the program was downloaded directly into your synth brain. Though your escape deleted most everything, you left with me and therefore took me along with you. It is I, Chess!"_ suddenly, the purple cat from the simulation appeared right in front of me. Just the same as in Wonderland, he unravelled like stripes on a candy cane. He was there in all his glory, and naked.

"You may want some clothes, friend," I pointed at his sheath. Quite cute, and I was blushing, but I had the hots for somepony else.

"Right!" he smiled that smile again and lifting his finger, a black suit appeared on him. He winked at me then turned around. "Now this way," he pointed at two doors, one closeby and one on the other side of the room, "I know exactly where to go!"

"If you just keep walking," I rolled my eyes. "You're pointing in two directions."

"Oh, am I?" he giggled a high pitched giggle, "I tend to do that don't I?" he seemingly chose a door at random and I could do nothing but follow him. This must've been what it felt like to blindly follow me back in my hustling days. A bit suspicious but mostly giddy at the thought of adventure.

We eventually made it to what looked like a server room that must be holding a vast amount of storage space. Blitzfire was passed out on the floor. My eyes widened.

"Ah, I see you're finally out of Wonderland. Did you like our little game?" asked a sluggish yellow pony who came rolling into the room.

I glanced at Chess who had unbuttoned his top button. "Only slightly," I told the lizard-like pony.

"No matter. You're friend won't make it past security anyway. You see, he thought I'd give him everything he needed, but it was a trap and he gave me everything I needed!" the yellow stallion began laughing, his rolls and rolls of fat shaking.

"What are you talkin' about?" I narrowed my eyes.

"I'd say see for yourself, but these computers are synth proof!"

Chess nudged me, "But they aren't me proof! I'm one of their programs, with me on your side, I can get you into and out of anything." his crescent shaped smile glowed in the dark.

"Watch me," I snapped at the fat pony and grabbed a helm for myself.

"You'll die!" gasped fatso. I didn't care. All that mattered now was saving Blitzy.

* * *

Achilles Dapperpaws

I blinked my eyes open. I was in a cube shaped room but there were no doors. " _Server malfunction. Code X not found in user."_ Chess materialized but his form was glitchy and wavering.

"I don't have much time to get us through. Press that button!" he pointed at the floor and a panel rose up from it. It was labelled "Press me." of course it was. So I did. A door appeared and I ran to it. Inside there was a large window. I saw Blitzy through it, holding onto a memory sphere but nothing was happening. His eyes were wide and his pupils were dilated. He seemed to be in some sort of trance and unaware of anything happening around him, including the ponybots about to converge on his position.

"We have to do something!" I shouted and ran to the window. I began banging on it, but my synth programming wouldn't allow me through.

"I don't see how smashing the impenetrable window is going to work," said Chess.

"Blitz! Can you hear me? Wake up!"

Achilles Heel

 _Blitz…hear me? Ache up!_

My eyelids fluttered open. I heard something like glass shattering, but it was musical. Something in front of me was tinkling against the tiles. A rock. The Wishing Star. I picked it up and looked around. Ponybots were swarming toward me and I was going to die if I didn't do something soon.

"Cappy?" I murmured. "Is that you?"

" _Do y?u w1sh f0r Him? Whht i5 yuur d3sirE?"_ I heard the malfunctioning voice of the overloading computer. It sounded feminine and familiar. Like the Mother of Magic voice I had heard on my radiation trip, but it was droned out through static and interference. I looked up and saw a window where there hadn't been one before. Capper was there, along with some purple cat I'd never seen.

"I…I wish Capper was here."

A loud buzzing filled the air and the ponybots stopped. They all turned to the window and in a loud voice in perfect sync, they yelled, "TO ENTER YOU MUST PROVE YOUR FEELINGS TO THE CHILDREN ARCANA PROGRAMME."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" asked Capper. He glanced at Chess who only shrugged.

"YOU LOVE ONE, YES, BUT ANOTHER YOU CRUSH ON. YOU'VE PROVEN SO IN THE WONDERLAND SIMULATION. BY SHOWING FAITH AT EVERY TURN. NOW SHOW THE SAME FAITH AGAIN."

I saw that the purple cat was frowning and Capper looked confused and concerned. "How can you ask me to do that? I can't just go tearin' my heart in two right in front of the one I really love."

I choked, feeling sick. So much radiation. But…"Capper, it's okay. I know you care about me and a crush is a stupid thing. Just do what you need to do, before it's too late."

Capper took the paw of the purple cat and looked him in the eye, "I kinda like you, you're charming and cunning, like me. But this don't mean I'm giving up anythin' for you." then he leaned in and kissed the other cat. The purple cat meowed and his stripes swirled up into himself. Next thing I knew they had reappeared in front of me. I had to admit, it kinda hurt to see him looking at the other cat like that, but we had bigger issues.

I tossed the orb to Capper. "I can't use it!"

"That's because it's a synth memory sphere." he explained.

"Weird that they'd make a program a synth can't get into, but only a synth can read it," the purple cat was rubbing his chin. "Quite the riddle! I'm Chess by the by." he took my hoof and helped me up.

Capper grabbed my hoof. "In we go."

 **Achilles Heel Memory File 03: 133 Years After the Incident of Stable 14**

 _It had always been a long haul, living as an immortal. I had always wondered how Celestia managed it. Sometimes I thought about Capper and what he might be up to, but then I thought to myself, that sly cat always had a knack for getting out of trouble. I didn't need to worry much about him and that gave me a sense of bliss._

 _When I met Chaser, the first synth I'd known since leaving behind Pre War Equestria, I felt I had a new purpose. I began broadcasting on wide-radio frequencies to anyone and anypony that could listen. I didn't know what would be out there, just that I had a purpose to help them._

 _Then the islanders came. They'd heard the transmissions but didn't know where to find me. I was okay with that. They didn't much care about me anyway. They just wanted land, and so over comm, we negotiated. I gave them their settlement and I had my own peace knowing they'd help anypony who came here to find me if they so wished._

 _Well that dream was swept up when the Children of Arcana came. Oh Faust how I hated them so. They wanted nothing more than to use the defoggers to destroy this island. And for what? Their dream of being one with magic? That's when they found me. They came knocking down my door. By then we had about 200 synths within our walls. There was a small war. Then I did something I regret._

 **Achilles Heel Memory File 05: 137 Years After the Incident of Stable 14**

 _"I told you Chaser, I have to do this."_

 _"But to what end, sir?"_

 _I was brushing my teeth, looking at myself in the stained mirror of my quarters. I had just finished coding a program that I would never need again after dealing with Alistair. "Even after I delete my memories, I'll still have the means to take control of this entire island. Alistair is playing right into my paw."_

 _"Can you explain the plan one more time?" Chaser asked me as we headed upstairs to the debrief room Joosh, who I'd stumbled upon some 20 years after exiting the temple, my right paw guy since even before the war and who I'm still surprised to this day survived, was waiting for us._

 _"Achilles, Alistair is outside with the contract ready for you to sign it whenever."_

 _"Why you needed to tell me that I have no idea," I rolled my eyes._

 _"Just trying to be useful and important."_

 _"Here's something useful, go let him in. I don't have all day to set in motion my plan to take over an entire island."_

 **Achilles Heel Memory File 08: 138 Years After the Incident of Stable 14**

 _So I gave them the boat, just to get them off my backs. Or so I liked to reassure myself. I had created the memory storage as a backup, in case I got cold feet. But I knew nothing would stop this civil war from happening. Now I just needed to wait._

 _That boat was in the perfect place. I had looked at all the maps a thousand times. Geographically, the rivers, ravines and channels would be the perfect places to send waves of radiation flowing all over the entire island. Now the Children of Arcana just needed one final shove, one final piece._

 _What that piece was, I didn't know. All I knew was that it would be what they needed to turn the defoggers into death traps, spewing all the radiation they could ever want._

 **Achilles Heel Memory File 013: 205 Years After the Incident of Stable 14**

 _Then it came, the final piece of the puzzle._

 _You._

 _All I needed was a way to get you here. I conned Mist Haze, made her think she was a synth, made her come here and caused her parents to send for the detective. My dear brother, you set me on the road to success after all. It was all so simple, and if only I had my memories, I'd be laughing in your face._

 _Ravager Blitzfire and Capper Dapperpaws, the only two with the means to carry out the missing piece of my plan. Blitz will secure the stones and Capper will infiltrate their security system. It'll look like an attack. The battle against the islanders will commence, and with the Mother of Magic idol and the three stones, the Children of Arcana have everything they need to turn defog into arcana burst…_

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

I opened my eyes, no longer inside the computer. Capper was beside me, but Chess was gone. "We have to get these files and the stones back to Achilles." I said in a hurry. Equesticles was making his way back into the room.

"Why would we do that? Achilles set us up!" Capper snapped. I could tell he was visibly furious.

"I know you're upset with him, but did you see him back there? He sent us off thinking he was doing something good. Maybe he's changed."

"Yeah right, but let's just go with it shall we?"

"Good, that's what I like to hear," I smiled at him and he smiled back. I turned to Equesticles and said, "Hey fatty, why not eat led?" I lifted my trusty revolver and gave him a few bullets. He screamed.

I grabbed the stones and the statuette then we ran from the room. "Follow me!" Capper waved me on, "Chess knows how to get out of here and avoid most of the security."

"Oh, right, Chess."

Capper stopped, "Look, it doesn't mean anything."

I moved past him, "I can't think about it right now. We just need to keep moving."

Alarms on the ship began blaring, and the corridor ahead of us filled with goonies. One lunged straight for me and I tackled him before he could pin me. We grappled with each other, hoof to hoof, and I had him locked in a dance. I got him turned around and pinned against the wall and he grunted. I smashed his head in and moved on. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Capper finish his off as well, using the kitty claws.

Bullets pinged off the walls and there was shouting all around but nopony managed to hit us. I turned and fired my shotgun at them but to no avail. I couldn't see what I was shooting at and the two of us were moving too fast to aim anyway.

We made it to the hatch and we pushed it open. We were on the beaten path outside the ship and I could feel the sights of about 20 guns aimed directly at us. "What the buck are we going to do?" I asked aloud.

A mare walked out of the fog straight ahead. She was wearing a long dress and a veil across her face. "What indeed?" she spoke to nopony in particular. She carried what looked like a wand and flicking a switch on it, a blue electrical orb appeared between its two prongs. She pointed it at us. A beam of energy shot toward us and Capper jumped up.

He yelled and with arms outstretched all the energy hit him full force. Then in midair he seemed to gather it up and shoot it right back at her. It cleared a huge path and caused a big enough distraction for us to slip away into the forest. I could hear the mare yelling, "Noooo!" behind us.

 _(So this is quite the tangled web. They were trying to trap Capper but completely failed, not only that but a piece of programming came with him. Blitz is not happy. I got the idea to do that from the Mortal Instruments, it was a pretty amazing scene. Anyway, until the next chapter!_

 **Brohoof**

 **/)**


	11. Chapter 11 DJ Has Us Falling in Love--

_(Note: sorry I've been on hiatus for an entire year. I've been struggling with depression. I'm excited to present the next two chapters! Author's notes will be reduced to footnotes from here on out!)_

 **Chapter 11** DJ Has Us Falling in Love Again

It was cold outside, much colder than the metal hull of an ancient navy ship made you think. Capper was a few paces behind me, muttering to himself. Presumably to this Chess character, but it only made him look like a crazy person. I suppose if you were a robot then you could get viruses and glitches, but the whole thing left me with so many questions and made me a little pissed off.

I only had time to fumigate over it all, thinking on how he'd never told me he was a synth, acting like the Institute legends were only myths. Well if he was one, then it was entirely possible the Institute existed too. Then there was his brother. He'd neglected to mention that tidbit to me, and it upset me because I loved him. You were supposed to tell those you cared about everything, right?

My biggest concern was Chess. I had seen him kiss the other cat in the simulator. Though I couldn't see or hear him now, it still felt like he was there. A looming presence, threatening me and standing in the way of what I wanted. But that was one of my biggest frustrations. What did I really want? Capper and I didn't exactly click.

My thoughts were interrupted when Capper made a shushing sound and said, "Chess heard something."

"Can you stop talking about Chess?" I said angrily.

"Whatchya'all need is a chill pill. Don't you see it on your Pip-Buck or whatever?" Capper was glancing about, looking ready for action.

It did tell me [CAUTION] but it hadn't been a big concern of mine. Caution meant it was looking for us but hadn't found us. As long as we went into Stealth Mode and kept quiet we'd be fine. But Capper just kept rambling on and on to his new imaginary friend and that's what got us in trouble.

Whatever it was was in the woods and it had a loud, high pitched screech. "Buck," I said under my breath, drawing a laser pistol. We were not well equipped to deal with the creatures on this island, but I thought, they had a tough outer shell that we needed to break through in order to damage them, and lasers were good at disintegrating things. I don't know.

[DANGER]

It jumped out at us and I immediately started shooting it. Red lasers bounced off its leathery skin, showing that I was wrong in my previous assumption. Capper yelled and rose his paws. Blue energy shot from them and it left burn marks on the creature's skin. It was wounded but still able to fight.

"Come on!" I yelled, grabbing his paw and pulling him around it. We began to flee. "How do you keep doing that?"

"I don't know. I've never done anything like that before, dog." Capper glanced back at the frog like beast that was chasing us now. "But that thing seriously needs to chill out. I ain't about that." He made a finger gun and shot more blue lightning at it. "Pow, pow," he laughed.

"This isn't funny. Now shut up, we're almost there." I could see the staircase leading up the side of the mountain complex that was Arcadia.

The facility's automated defense system kicked in, spraying defog at the monster and a weapons system lifting up out of the hull. The monster screeched while we clambered inside, pulling the door shut behind us.

Our faces inches apart, we breathed. I could feel his breath on my cheeks, his warmth and his paws on my arms. I closed my eyes and sighed then pulled away from him. "Wai—" he choked but Achilles came running to us.

"That was quite an entrance!" he said as he sprinted.

Joosh was right behind him, "I barely got the defenses up in time."

"You mean they're not automated?" I asked.

"We don't exactly have the right equipment at a research facility for that, now do we?" said Chaser in her dull tones.

"Did you do it?" asked Achilles. "Did you get the memory spheres?"

"Yes." said Capper flatly. "You have some explaining to do."

* * *

 _Pre-War: 12 Years Before The Megaspells_

"If we take a vertiherd from the Ministry, we'll make it in time to save her." Nexus was shouting as we ran to the garage. He had scrambled to find the keys to his car and was basically dragging me along with him.

"Are you crazy? Not only are you proposing stealing government property but you're also asking me to help you save a zebra. We'd be traitors to the country." I was saying it, but my hooves took me to the passenger side door and I opened it and hopped in.

"You know Zecora didn't mean for any of this to happen. She is one of many and she doesn't represent her people. Listen, maybe she is a zebra, but what we're about to find in Opportunity will set the path straight for Stable Tech once and for all, but we can't do it without her." Nexus had the engine started and the garage door was barely open before he was peeling out of here.

"She probably doesn't even know she's important, right?" I looked at him from my peripheral as I watched the road. It was nearing twilight and the sun was setting. How the sisters could still go about their daily duties in the midst of all this I had no idea.

"What we'll do now will shape the future of Equestria. Stable Tech will see us as heroes."

"I'm sure they will," I glanced every which way out the windows, but there were no other cars on the road.

"You forgot, didn't you? About Opportunity? What we left there?"

"How could I forget?" I finally looked at him. He was smiling at me.

We pulled up to the guardrail between us and the warehouse hiding Pinkie Pie's baker's dozen fleet of vertiherds. The warehouse was labelled 13, and I saw workers like ants going to and fro on the platform far below. Spotlights lit up the area but up here we were still cloaked in shadow.

"What's your plan, hotshot? They're not gonna let us waltz in there and fly out with one of Pinkie's birds."

He lowered a set of binoculars he had with him. "There's a gap in their workforce between warehouse 12 and 14. If we sneak in from the alley between 13 and 14 we can get to the underground bunker through the tunnels inside 12."

I gave him a crazy look, "How do you know all that?"

"BECAUSE PINKIE PIE IS ALWAYS WATCHING" shrieked a familiar voice. On the video screen in the center dash beside the steering wheel was Pinkie Pie's face. She was smiling. "Zecora was once Fluttershy's best friend other than Dash. You think I wouldn't want to keep her alive? Twilight might not trust her anymore, but I'm not the only pony in the Ministry that thinks it's not all her fault."

Nexus burst out laughing. "We can be heroes without the government's permission! What? You really thought I was crazy enough to _steal_ from Pinkie Pie?"

" _I'm_ the only one crazy enough to steal from me, and not even _I'm_ that crazy!" yelled Pinkie Pie over the comm.

"What you said makes no sense, but I'll take your word for it." I nodded to her.

"Look, nopony would approve of what we're doing tonight, but I do so we have to keep this a secret." said Pinkie. "You Pinkie swear?"

"Cross my heart and hope to fly," said Nexus.

"Stick a cupcake in my eye," I ended the promise.

"Good, now get your bootays down there soldiers because Zecora doesn't have much time!" with that the screen flicked out.

"Congrats, you just got told to get your booty down there by the Minister of Morale." laughed Nexus as he hopped out of the car.

* * *

 _Present Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

"You have some explaining to do." He was pissed. You could see it in the look in his eyes. You did not wanna mess with Capper at this instance kuz he looked about ready to strangle his own brother. Either that or castrate him and feed it to him.

Achilles held his paws up in surrender, "Look, I'm sure I deleted my memories because they were bad but let's be reasonable about this. Let me watch them and remember, and then we can all make up our minds together."

"Cap," I put my hoof on his shoulder, "It doesn't matter anyway. The Children of Arcana hate us and the program was already downloaded into their servers. We have the only means to stop them but we have to convince Achilles first. And we can't do that until he has his memories back."

"Fine. How about I help him with that and you go talk to Mist Haze. Go clear up with her that she's not really a synth." He said to me, still snarling.

I set my bag down with the stones and all the memories. "Sounds like a plan. Here's what you'll need."

"I'll take you to Mist, she's been waiting for you," said Chaser.

"What did you find out?" asked the mare as soon as the security chief was gone. She was twirling a hoof through her mane anxiously.

"Well," I bit my lip, "Achilles is exactly what you thought he was. But Capper is gonna see about convincing him to change his mind."

"After deleting all those memories, it wouldn't be hard, you change without the things that made you who you are." she nodded like speaking some deep philosophy.

"Yeah, but that's not all." I seized a breath, knowing this was going to be hard for her.

"What's not all?" now she looked the least bit suspicious.

"You're not a synth." there it was, like a fat dumpling on Thankscloven. "Achilles only brought you here to get at his brother." I looked down at my hooves.

"What, no! That can't be true!" she shook her head, taking a step back.

"I'm sorry."

"Then, there's only one thing we can do!" she set her wrench down and looked me firmly in the eyes.

"Just one?" I rose a brow.

"Well, I'm sure there's always a next step but—Oh, let's just get on with it!" she waved a hoof at me as she ran off suddenly. I should follow her.

* * *

 _My lips were on his, the rain trickled off our backs. My hoof was in his turquoise mane, brushing it back so I could reach his face. He had just finished telling me one of his many horror stories. He needed me to lean on and I was here for him, like I always would be._

 _Our tongues met like singing a song, and I knew he could hear mine. His hooves were caressing my back and when we pulled apart, our eyes met. There were tears forming in his, but I was too hardened to show my emotions. I had built walls up around myself, I had to be his rock. He was my pebble._

 _His bangs fell in his face and I laughed, "You know I wouldn't let anypony hurt you right?" I asked as I moved his hair from his mismatched eyes. I loved staring into those eyes._

 _"Of course not. Things just get all prickly sometimes."_

 _"Prickly?" I sat up straighter, trying to wrap my head around that one._

 _"Yeah! Like a pear!" Little OJ was nodding, excited he'd gotten my attention._

 _"A prickly pear." my whole body wiggled in amusement. Orange Juice always had quite the imagination._

 _"A prickly pear," OJ blushed as he fell on top of me._

* * *

Capper Dapperpaws

"What are you doing?" Blitzfire waltzed in like he was on a mission but he stopped in his tracks one hoof in front of the other when he saw me setting down one of the orange colored memory spheres.

"Why, I thought this was another one of those doohickies." I lifted a paw like a showroom catgirl, but ol' Blitzy here wasn't buying it.

"Those are personal!" Blitz snatched his bag and attempted to zip it up when quite a few more of OJ's memory orbs rolled from the bag.

"Now, who let the cat outta the bag," I put a paw over my short muzzle, pretending I was shocked.

"Oh real funny wise guy." Blitz rolled his eyes as he began scooping up the merchandise.

"I was only snoopin' kuz I noticed you got your tail all ruffled over Chess here," I bladed my paws to indicate where I could see he was standing. He waved at me and smiled.

"Chess isn't real."

"Excuse me, don't use that word." I rose a paw and waggled a no, no, no finger at him. "It's 'ain't'." I explained.

"Okay," Blitz plopped the bag down as Mist came in all shrimpy behind him from around the big metal pillar and glass panels of the computer lab. "I see how it is," Blitz got in my face, not exactly tall enough to reach, he stretched.

"Do ya now?"

"Ladies, ladies, please," Achilles stepped into the room, carefully coming down the steps from the platform. "I just wanna know if you got the memories?"

I slowly turned to meet him like I was a butler, "Why yes, sir, but you know what else we got? A war on our paws." I rolled my arms over each other and leaned toward Blitz, "As well as hooves mind you."

"Drop the act, Capper." Achilles hissed. "It's disgusting."

"I tell you what else is disgusting," Blitz spat and looked away.

"Okay, everypony," Mist rose a hoof, trying to cool down the tension.

Achilles took the memory sphere's that Blitz had retrieved from the Children of Arcana base. It had better be all worth it for what the two of us had to go through or I swear by the sisters I would personally declaw my hermano myself. Luckily I still had that option as he had disappeared during the entire conflict with the Storm King and strangely reappeared right after Sia's concert. *Ahem*! I mean Songbird Serenade.

My brother stood by the computers eating an apple, and I heard a distinct stomach growl coming from my coltfriend. "Um…where did you get that?" asked Blitz, clearing his throat. Right, where do we get a lot of things?

"What, this?" Achilles took a bite of the apple.

Smoothly, I swiped it from him and tossed it to Blitz, who did not catch it. "Play it cool, hermano, eating at a time like this."

"I…don't think I want it now." Blitz swallowed. I facepalmed. I was being awkward because I had made it awkward. Coming to this island was not my best deal.

Waiting for Achilles to go through the memory files was like watching paint dry. Unfortunately for a cat, who liked to scratch anything and everything, you had to keep painting over it. I was still waiting for a reaction to his entire scheme he'd decided to bury away like a dog. Nothing, no shock, no pain. My bro was a cold hearted marauder, coming here and setting up shop on a battleground. He knew exactly what he was doing, what he had done, and I would take a wager he was happy about it right about—

"So, this is unsettling." Achilles set down the last memory sphere.

"I'd say so," said Mist, moving toward him between Blitz and I. "How many ponies here are actually synths?" she asked.

"Everypony but you," Achilles sighed. He was taking this in stride, but I was enthralled to see he looked deeply upset about it as well.

"Looks like somepony was just a wild goose in all this," I pointed out. "You just wanted to get us here to further your plans. Now the Children have everything they need."

Achilles put a paw on my shoulder, "Listen, I deleted my memories not because I wanted my plan to fall perfectly into place without giving it away, but because I was guilty." He sighed, "They would have found all this on their own anyway, Blitz isn't the only buck that can withstand that much radiation."

"Who can?" asked Mist. Achilles gave her a look that said it all. "Oh." she blinked. "You mean, you brought me here as a plan A and plan B?"

"That's some hustlin' sweetheart," I made finger guns at her and Achilles laughed.

"Now you're my plan C," Achilles focused on her. "You can bring the Mother of Magic Idol back, tricking them into thinking you're on their side after finding out I lied to you about being a synth."

"Then, I deactivate their programs using the idol and the whole island is safe!" Mist nodded.

"Remind you of anypony from Cloudsdale who isn't awesome?" I dragged my paw down my face and dead stared at my brother.

"Unfortunately Mist Haze, the program only works one way." Achilles bit his lip. Pointy teeth, our families best and cutest quality.

"Wait, she'd die!" Blitz snapped. "How are you going to send her in there knowing using the idol would activate their reverse defoggers?"

"Two reasons," Achilles held up a paw to tick off on his paw beans. "She's a radstag, it takes more radiation than even a ghoul to knock her down. Second, I had Joosh implant a program that overloads the mainframe."

"Causing it to destroy only the naval vessel instead of the whole island." came Joosh's voice over the intercom. "By my calculations, as a radstag, she has about 12 minutes and 42 seconds to get out of the 1 mile radius of the blast. Given that it would be megaspell expulsion followed by heavy arcana burst. It'll kill everypony who isn't her."

Achilles tilted his head and made eye contact with the scientist, "Are you enjoying yourself, shrink? Explaining every detail that doesn't make a difference? Also, interrupting me?"

"You know, I'm so glad I chose to join you and not Tiger back on the mainland." Joosh stuck his tongue out and released the intercom button.

"Tiger…" Achilles breathed. Then blinked. "Mist, we have to put you into Blitzfire's Arcana gear. Let's get!" he clapped his paws and shooed her from the room, taking her to get fitted.

"Can we chat?" I sat down and swivelled to face my coltfriend.

"About…?"

I sighed. Heavily. I don't do that, it wasn't in my nature to display…whatever that was. "Listen, he's still here you know."

"Who?" Blitzy wasn't even looking at me.

" _That's right, whoooo?"_ Chess was right in my ear. He had been silent this whole time, but he knew I couldn't resist his charm. He was like me in too many ways.

"Chess, it's Chess and you know who I'm talking about."

Finally he looked at me. "I want to be mad at you, but I can't because we all have our crushes. I still have a place in my heart for Orange Juice and you know that now." I don't think I'd ever seen tears welling up in his eyes like that before.

"I could…I dunno. Delete him…?"

" _What? Noo, I'm not all there but I don't want to be not not all there!"_ Chess placed himself right next to Blitz, giving me Puss in Boots eyes.

"I get it, I really do, but you can't just delete things from yourself. Achilles learned that the hard way." Blitz lifted a hoof in the most adorable way, possibly without even realizing it. "I'm still trying to learn it if I'm being honest."

"But if he's getting in the way…" my voice trailed off. My heart was thunder, and Chess was the lightning in a bottle that I had swiped from the market place long before war with zebras was even a concept.

" _How could I get in the way of anything? I could be right in front of you and you could still walk through me."_ Chess looked like a dying kitten.

"There's something else you could try," Joosh said over the com.

"Shut up Joosh!" Blitz snapped. He was on the verge of a Titanic of emotions. I got it, better than I had in awhile.

I practically lunged like a wild animal to kiss him. He didn't stop me. He was receptive but cold, but nothing in me would let me stop. I needed him to understand. I hadn't felt this guilty since Tempest kidnapped me and forced me to lead her right to the Mane 6. I suppose my guilt turned into passion because I was wrestling him onto the floor, where he began to feel me up. His hooves were in my petticoat and my paws were all over him.

"Are we really doing this?" Blitz huffed. "In front of Joosh?"

"He'll come around," I smirked. "Besides, if you could only see who was standing watch right now." Like bright red lipstick, Chess had no boundaries when it came to where he got off. Us cats for ya!

"Oh bet he's hot right now."

" _I wouldn't say voyeurism is my middle name, but when it comes to being invisible I have a knack for keeping track!"_ Chess was pleased with himself as he stroked it. That made me even more aroused. Two creatures watching me do my coltfriend. Perhaps I was an exhibitionist.

"Fuck yes," Blitz muttered as I played with him. He was like a toy and I knew all the right buttons. I think I was gettin' my charm back because we weren't foolin' around. _Wink, wink._

I grinded against him, loving the sounds of his pleasure. "Don't we…have better things…to be doing…right now?" he breathed as he bit my neck.

"No, I would say _not_ ," as I popped my member in right up to just that.

"Faust!" Blitz gasped. He was sweaty, but so was I. A little sweat and tears never killed nopony baby.

"Right here guys? _Right_ here?" Achilles was just returning with a cowering Mist behind him.

"Mama used to bathe us together, bro, and this tickles your funny bone?" I snickered at him, twitching my whiskers just as I finished off in Blitz and he neighed loudly beneath me. My belly covered up his loads.

I popped out and helped him up. "No time to clean up, I'll have Joosh mop later I guess." Achilles waved his hand in dismissal.

I pulled my pants up, fumbling with the buckle while Blitz looked flushed at me. "Can't believe you didn't even stop."

"No use in stopping halfway through just because you're caught, doesn't make it any less embarrassing." I winked.

"I suppose that makes sense," Mist acknowledged as she carefully made her way around the spot Blitz and I had been fucking.

" _You know, I would love to pick that shrink's brain on his previous fancy of not deleting me."_ Chess wandered off into the control room, where I'm sure he'd make a leap of faith into a fruitful interaction with beings outside my mind.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"So let's get this one hundred percent straight," I twirled my hoof in midair to roll around the idea in my head that I was supposed to waste ammo on pretending to and missing shots at Mist as she ran towards the navy ship. "You want me to shoot like I don't know how to hold a gun? Kuz I'll show you holding a gun." I was precariously flashing my revolver.

Achilles rubbed the back of one paw, "Well, I can see not liking the idea, but you would be well reimbursed if this all goes through as planned."

"We'll reimbursed? As in there's no contingency plan, my brother?" Capper had been smiling this whole time and I wondered if he was about to start laughing.

"How much is it then?" I asked, straight to business.

"You don't want to do this for the good of Cumber?" Achilles looked appalled. Right.

I rolled my eyes, "I'll do it for the good of Cumber as long as it does some good for my pockets as well."

"That's the way to swindle, amigo." Capper licked the tip of his paw and did a Tss sound.

"I've missed you," I gushed. Everypony else besides Capper stuck their tongues out.

"We can tell, Mr. and Mrs. Sex in the Observatory." Achilles wiped his paws together, brushing off invisible filth. This guy, I tell you, gets a lot of eye rolls. "I'll give you 500 caps, each."

I felt the megaspells go off in my head, mind blown at the steep price. "You're kidding."

"I'll tell y'all one thing about the Dapperpaws and affiliates family," stated Capper with a paw bean raised, "we don't tend to kid."

"Riiiight," I rolled my eyes.

"No, I am most certainly not kidding. You want to shut down their operation and that's what it's worth to me." said Achilles.

"I'll do it." I nodded my agreement.

"Good."

* * *

 _Pre-War: 12 Years Before The Megaspells_

" _To get in, you're going to need to distract my guards,"_ said Pinkie on our communications crystals, little gems you stuck in your ear and ran on minispells. " _I'll be watching every hoofstep of the way, yep yep you know I will."_

I looked to Nexus who had snuck over to the guard shed positioned at the top of the hill. He had a small, flat, circular device that he clicked a button on and rolled out into the middle of the street. In about 5 seconds, like a grenade, a siren went off. It was being output from the device and it sounded like a wailing prison siren. According to the pink mare, this alarm mine was made as a party gag and never rolled off the shelves. Well, it came in handy now.

We exchanged glances from opposite sides of the road, he ducked under the window of the shed and I leaning up against a dying tree. A pony came out of the shed, looking down at the device. "What the?" he clicked it and Nexus ran up behind him and clocked him over the back of the head. He was wearing Stable Tech Security grade horseshoes, thick stuff, and the guard was not only knocked out cold but bleeding out like he'd been shot.

"We're not here to kill anypony!" I hissed.

He brayed, "Don't worry, I wasn't going to leave him like that. I'm wearing these things in preparation for the Everfree Forest, not to kill Pinkie's guards. She'd dismember me in my sleep!"

" _Tartarus straight!"_ she screeched, not quite making sense.

Nexus rubbed a healing salve over the back of the pony's neck, something he'd learned to make from Zecora. The blood clotted and stopped flowing. "He'll awaken with no memory of what happened."

"Now to sneak into the warehouse."

" _There are, count em, four guards circling the perimeter. I believe if I'm not mistaken, a valve in the shed that will release a sleeping agent in designated areas around the warehouse. It won't get em all so you're in for a fight with whoever's left."_

"Why do you have sleeping gas around your hangars?" I asked her, tapping the crystal to make sure I heard her right.

" _Insurance! I see if I'm betrayed and I see when I'm infiltrated."_

"The only logical approach to security," Nexus smiled and nodded to me.

"I'm surrounded by cuckoos."

" _And don't you forget it!"_ Pinkie Pie yelled.

After the button was pushed we had about a minute to get down the hill and into the compound. There were two guards left standing. Nexus and I rushed down their like two soldiers in the heat of battle. I suppose this was a battle of our own. A lot had happened in the time since his sister had died, and we'd lost many more friends since then. We could never have seen this war coming, we didn't know what death was truly like. He was hardened to it, I saw that in him. I didn't know quite for sure if I really liked that, but hey, it got the job done.

He swung the gate open and we ran inside. There was more security in here, pacing, unaware to their fallen comrades inside. The other two were making their way in to alert the others. I saw them trying to run inside, opening their muzzles to shout. I lunged on one, Nexus the other, a team the two of us. We had chloroform, shutting them down before they could ruin the operation.

"Now how are we going to take them out?" I pointed up to the walkways. "No killing makes this a lot harder."

"And we can't just hop in a vertiherd and expect them to stand idly by." Nexus was rubbing his chin.

" _Let me in, let me in…not by the hairs on my chinny chin chin."_ Pinkie's voice sounded a lot closer than just on our comms.

A shadow swiped its way across the pedway and I heard the first soldier grunt before collapsing in a split second. The other turned to and lifted his rifle, looking to and fro. " _And this one's juuuust right."_ the guard was down and Pinkie was standing proud above him.

"Thanks for the help!" Nexus saluted.

"How'd you get here, weren't you in Canterlot?"

"I am!" she giggled. I gave Nexus a look, _of course, that's what they want you to think._

Nexus flipped the switches, activating the engines as Pinkie slipped into the restraints of a seat behind us. The blades began to whir and Pinkie pressed a big red button, "We are cleared for take off!" the hangar bay opened from the top like a giant maw.

"You ready?" Nexus turned to me.

"Never been more so in my life."

 _(Footnote: So I am posting a couple chapters I had written but must've forgotten to post. So chapter 12 is coming right up guys!)_

 **Brohoof! /)**


	12. Chapter 12 Heart of Gold

**Chapter 12** Heart of Gold

 _Ping! Ping! Ping!_

Even for all the misses, my aim was still true. I didn't let anypony diminish me. A lot had happened on this island, but that was one thing that hadn't changed. I remained cool and in control. You had to be, or something in this wasteland brought you down with it. This time, it was dignity.

Mist Haze ran down the road, in between the trees and straight for the naval vessel. The Children of Arcana came out to greet her, aiming their guns to see what they could. Scopes and barrels trained on us, we decided it was up to her now. She disappeared into a sea of robes. They took her in like on of their own, no tests, no judgement. It was clear what they valued.

* * *

Mist Haze

I was a very observant filly, my grandstag had taught me that. Don't overlook anything, don't leave any stone or leaf unturned. His way of living was what made him a good fellow. When he died of cancer, I had taken it upon myself to know what the world had in store for me. His way of living. My way of living. I didn't give up, because curiosity did not kill the cat. I had to know what there was to know, and I didn't take it for granted.

When I left on my grandstag's boat, I didn't leave because I was upset with my parents. A child running away from home because they were angry about a lie told to them. I didn't know if I was a synth. I left to find out, but I wasn't mad. Knowledge is power, whoever said that was prepared for anything. It was always more than money, bits, caps; things that are worthless if you don't know how to use them. So I came here to find out who I was and make my choice on what I wanted to do from then on.

Thinking on it, I think my choice had finally come. I was staring at the rusting hull of an old boat, the blankets covering the entryways into dwellings made within. I was staring at the grated gangways and the diamond plated walkways. I glanced between the sickly faces of ponies made ghoul for their beliefs. I saw the priests, the disciples, the ponies who took it upon themselves to lead this place. There was an obvious difference between the two groups.

Stopping when the slug-like pony rolled up to me on his scrawny legs, I knew what was happening here. Achilles Heel was a bad guy, but he was less so than this stallion who painted himself a god and made his people slaves. He was so fat he could barely move, meanwhile his people were dying as he dined with the finest the world had to offer. I looked at him with heavy eyes. My grandstag died of cancer.

Equesticles was cancer.

"So you have it then?" he smiled and clopped his shoes together.

I held it up and looked at it. The three holes meant for ancient stones, the ugly facade of a radiation ravaged mother. She was better than him in every way. "Do you need it?"

"It's not about what we need," he smiled and glugged over to me. He put his arm around me and laughed.

He first took me to a room, asking me to undress from the arcana gear. He didn't think it necessary to hide my "beauty" though I knew the real reason I was wearing it. Now I had to change the plans again. I was a tinkerer, I could change the program to deactivate the Children's defoggers altogether instead of destroying this entire ship. But that would change the future of this island, and with a stallion like Equesticles about, I wasn't so sure what I wanted now.

Leading me through the tunnels of the inner ship, I had to ponder. I saw the way his people looked at me. The younger ponies, yet untouched by the worship their lives would lead them to. I was a walking symbol of their grace. I saw a mirror in one room, a bathroom I think. Just the right angle for me to look up and pause at what I saw. To them I must be a queen. Where patches of my blue fur shone through, the rest was taken by the radiation damage of my birth. Black charred and dead skin covered me, and from it growths. Green and glowing and one might say healthy.

"Your cutie mark, miss," said a child, a colt. He lifted a wobbly leg, a hoof to touch my flank. My body must be like nature itself to him.

"Do not touch her!" roared Equesticles, slapping him.

I bit my lip and looked at the floor. Then I looked to the colt. "It could never fully develop. Not even because I was born with radiation torn skin. I have pure magic in my veins that would prevent it from happening either way. What you see is what you get."

There was a long pause, where the colt looked up at me with awe in his eyes and Equesticles had a second to reflect as well, whether he took that time or not. "She's beautiful and that's all there is to it." he told the kid. He got up and ran off.

It was funny to think that even half a cutie mark was so amazing to the lesser minded people of this society. That instead of the magic that ran through me every day like a thousand volts, they saw beauty. And not just the sick, twisted perversion of it I noticed everytime their leader took a glance at me. It was something pure in their heads.

"If you don't need this then why am I here?" I asked him when we got to the control room.

"You're a symbol!" he boomed as he closed the door to the larger chamber behind us. I set the idol down on the control boards. I breathed in and then out. "You saw the treachery in that synth laboratory right? How they lied to you?"

I turned to him, head tilted, "You knew it from the start right?"

"I knew Achilles had some sort of plan, or he wouldn't have brought me to this boat." smiled the stallion. "I also knew, there was no way a creature as pure as you could ever be a synth. They don't see you as perfection, they see you as something to laugh at. Achilles wouldn't want to corrupt his perfectly good synths to recreate something like you."

"I agree." said I, and turning back to the terminals, I slid the idol into its slot. "It's not something you need. It's something you want." I turned it like a key, activating every program the Children ever wanted. "You already had every piece you needed to finish it without me, right?"

"But doing it with the idol is what makes all the difference to people like them," he just kept smiling.

I lifted my hoof from the grimy floor, looking at how thin my leg was and comparing it to him. I had always considered myself beautiful. I had similarities to him it was true. We both had scrawny legs. But I was a deer pony, a radstag. We were meant to be like this, I was stronger for it. But him? He was meant to be something else and he had tarnished it without batting an eye. So when I pressed the button on the dash that deleted all the programs he had built, and replaced them with the ones Achilles had, I did it knowing I was better for it. It didn't even matter if it made me better than him, because I wasn't here to be better or worse. I was here to be equal.

"Then they'll know what we have done together."

" _REBOOTING…STANDBY…"_

"What have you done?!" he stumbled toward me but I easily sidestepped.

"Listen now, it's over. I tampered with the programming in the idol to delete all of yours. Do you want to know why? Because somepony like you could never fully comprehend what it's like to embrace Mother's light. I'm not a synth, I'm not a pony. Hey, maybe I'm not even a deer. But I am someone who knows who you are. You're a coward. All this knowledge at your disposal and instead of using it right you wanted to hide it away like it was useless altogether. I've changed that and your people will see. I'm a symbol right?"

"No! Faust dammit no!" he yelled.

The door opened. Sundance was at the threshold. "Sir?" he looked shaken, confused. The walls were paper thin, he knew.

"Sundance! Sunny boy!" Equesticles tried to reach out and hug him but he just fell flat on his face. "Help me. Please. Can you do that?" the leader looked up at his disciple, having fallen off his golden pedestal too far to survive.

"Who's Faust?" he asked. "Our Mother's bitter half? The false god?" Sundance had a tear in his eye as he looked away from the disgrace before him. He looked to me. He looked to the computers, sweeping the radiation emitter data and replacing it with defogging tech. "You praise her name," he said to him as he looked at me, "when Mother's glory has brought new light upon us."

I stepped forward and Equesticles grabbed my leg, "What have you done?"

Ignoring him, Sundance continued, "I know you! I know who you are! WE ALL DO! AND WE JUDGE YOU FOR YOUR SINS, AS MOTHER EMBRACES US WITH HER LIGHT. Is that not the gospel you preach?" he cleared his throat as the fallen leader looked sorry. "I judge you not by your sins but by your actions taken to get around them. You are no leader. We followed you to destruction. Mother has a new plan, Equesticles. Mother has judged you, as she should have all along."

The two of us left, leaving him to squirm and rot.

They'd heard it all. The ghouls, the leaders, everypony. Not only that, they saw me when I stepped out onto the gangway. They saw me. What happened next didn't quite surprise me but it was not what I expected either. The intercoms still buzzed and whined with their fallen leader's moans. Some thought I had attacked him and betrayed them all. The majority stood with me. I only saw a few of that majority were priests or clergies. The rest were the wartorn remains of the Children.

Some priests wanted to restore order. They held power here for so long they couldn't see that it was gone. Or they just wanted to keep it, they were so hungry for it. They turned their weapons on the crowd, they turned them on us. Sundance was barren of any ordnance. He saw a better way. So he talked.

"The time has come we atone for our sins!" he yelled. "We had with us the false Prophet! He calls for the false god. Lay down your weapons or you stand with him. And you will not succeed."

A shot rang out, clear as day. I thought it was coming for me. I'd started all this. I could admit guilt and take responsibility. Whoever had fired that shot could not. It hit Sundance straight in the chest. He stood tall, I'd give him that. Then he wasn't standing at all. It appeared to happen in slow motion. He went flying through the air, he hit the railing, he slid to the ground. Blood painted the paths of the upper decks. It dripped through the grated metal floor and it rained on the denizens below.

Some ponies screamed, others cried. I looked, seeing the colt who'd come to me earlier. He stared at me with dead eyes, emotions run cold for a moment in time. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. He just stood there. Gunfire sounded all around. It touched me, that he still had faith amidst all the tarnage. Ghouls fell dead, the ones that didn't even try to defend themselves. Lots did but these ponies didn't train their people. It almost appeared they held them back on purpose, just for moments like this.

"It all circles around!" Sundance cried. A bullet just close to his heart he should be dead and he still had more to say. "Everything comes full circle in the end! Do you want to know why none of you realize this? We refuse to preach the truth, that's why. And I stood by and just watched it happen." his voice wasn't heard, but I imagine if the guns stopped now, everypony would stop and hear what he had to say. He looked me in the eye. "It all gets a return. Some are judged for their crimes and others are forgiven. Only the good die young." He smiled as he bled out.

"No." I said.

"What?"

"I said no. I refuse to believe this is the way things are." I moved past him, the green spots on my body glowing in the heat of the moment. I felt I was moving slowly and with purpose, but the next few seconds happened so fast I must've been a blur. I climbed up the ladder, enclosed by metal bars for safety. I was on what looked like a mini below deck crow's nest, a circular platform. A radio hung by a curly wire that must connect to the com system. I hooked it with an antler and made my descent till I reached Sundance and handed it to him.

"This being has come to us through the Mist." he said, as though from memory. "She comes bearing gifts of wisdom. "Knowledge," she said, "was Her ultimate glory." We forgot, and thus asked forgiveness. She said, "You need not beg mercy for you have done no wrong." And the meek shall be punished!" Sundance yelled so loud that the radio was no longer necessary. It was a voice that carried, one that begged to be heard, one that carried over the highest rooftops and asked, _why have you not listened before?_ "Arcane Wisdoms, Chapter 23 Article 2:3.

And I stand here now, asking, "Have you not seen the fruit you bear?!" It begs the question, if you ever knew what Light was at all. For it is a lie if you walk the Path for yourself, and not that of your fellow. _It-is-a-lie!"_

"They brought down the ones who sought to lead them wrong!" yelled the colt. "The false Prophet!" slowly the guns died. Slowly the priests stopped to hear. "For out of his lies came pure beauty. Something no perversion can touch."

" _Mother's Gospel, Chapter 3 Article 10:6."_ called the ghouls.

I stepped to the edge of the gangway, placing one hoof on the railings. I looked down at all the ponies below, seeing finally that the priests had dropped their weapons. That kid still watched me. "I come here, not pretending I know your words. But I do come with the promise that I will not lie, and I will not pervert the wisdom meant to be given to you. My grandstag once said, "There brings no flood like an unattended gate." Sure he was probably talking about the floodgates in the canal connecting his home to the one I lived in before all this. But if you leave your people to rot this way, then you open the floodgates, and you do so willingly."

"Why do we continue to play this make believe game?" asked Sundance. "You would have a thought in your mind to stand with Equesticles after he tried to force convert this entire island or let them forever be washed in darkness? I was not taught that! Were you?"

"It sounds to me that Mother accepts everyone when they ask, but not when you shove it down their throats." I pursed my lips. "You don't judge them, if that's what you want to say you're doing. You condemn them and it isn't your job to do so. I have a proposal."

"Let's hear it then." said a female voice. It glided over the crowd like silk. I saw a pony wearing a cloak and a huge shawl. There were whispers in the sea of ponies.

"Some of you might not like it." I sighed.

"Then I beg that those who do not, leave now." said Sundance, coming to stand beside me, even though his breath was growing shakier.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"The countdown is complete," said Achilles, swivelling in his chair to face us. He was smiling. I glanced to Capper who had his eyebrows raised.

"I don't hear any alarms!" called Joosh.

"That must mean something else happened." Chaser nodded over to Achilles who was hurriedly scanning the radars.

Achilles turned back to his computer screens and I watched Capper slip into the lab. I looked over his brother's shoulder to see what he was seeing, a radar. The naval vessel was quiet. All the blips still congested there. They hadn't moved since we got Mist in. I suppose that meant it could be over. We hadn't thought the plan through past whether the alarms went off or not. There were blips leaving the harbor, moving more inland. "Now that's alarming." Achilles stroked his chin.

Capper was talking to Joosh when I glanced to the lab's windows. He had an elbow propped on his other arm, raised straight like a board, and his chin rested on the back of the other paw. He seemed deep in thought. "Let me know if it gets anymore 'alarming,'" I told him. "I'm gonna go see what the big deal is in there."

Capper had sat down by the time I came in and both were silent. Capper was typing on a terminal. "Whatcha working on?" I asked, but neither stirred. I put a hoof on my tomfriend's shoulder. "Cap?"

"What's that, my friend?" he murmured.

"What's got you so lost."

"Chess lives up to his name." he said without looking up.

"How's that?"

Capper finally stopped what he was doing. "It doesn't have the ease of access we once thought," he slid his paw forward through the air, insinuating a sexual action. I could imagine Chess nodding in approval.

"His programming has the key fundamentals of our synths, but there's no back door to let it integrate with our systems." Joosh explained. He rolled over to us holding a book on coding. "He's more arcana than data and our synths don't work like that."

"This compound might not have the capabilities to download him." Capper sighed.

My eyes focused on his terminal. It flickered green, the projector not fully fit to keep up with the graphics. I read off a couple lines of code, then noticed something peculiar. "It's not just a Wonderland simulator, it's a Wonderland code."

"Wait, what's that and how do you know what it is?" Capper narrowed his eyes.

Joosh sat forward in his seat and the book fell from his lap. "It's ingenious is what it is. A whole simulation based around the code that made it and the code the same way vice versa."

"It's so Faust damn complicated, I don't know if even Pinkie Pie could've made this." I breathed.

"How. Do. You. Know what it is?" Capper put his paw on my chest.

"Because I know the stallion that created it." my voice trailed off.

"I could figure out how to download him, the backdoor is in the code. It's not just a map of his program, it's literally a map of him." Joosh pointed at each script, and when he took control of the keyboard zoomed out to show a bigger picture. It was as if the creator had the intention of creating a piece of art.

"It's him. Chess. His bare bones, if I ever did see them." Capper set his paws in his lap and stared longingly at the screen, like he'd never seen anything else like it. Probably not. It was in fact an image of Chess, just in green instead of purple.

"Only one pony could have done this." I was almost inaudible if not for the cramped quarters.

Capper looked me up and down and sighed. He touched me lightly. "You okay?"

"I think I will be. Just need to take a break from everything."

I didn't get the chance. Suddenly the alarms began blaring and we all jumped on the spot. Mist couldn't have failed! We ran to the control room, Joosh too and we all stared at Achilles' face, how anxious he looked.

"What's wrong?" Capper and I both asked at the same time.

"The radar…I couldn't account for this…I couldn't." he put a paw on the armrest and gripped it hard.

"You couldn't," said Chaser. "But she could." he pointed at the screen and out came several blips from the ship. They were moving toward the ones that had come from the harbor town. Some were moving toward us, but a few from the ship split off to circle around. Then it all went blank.

"They've jammed our signal. No way to track movement right now until Joosh gets it back up." he turned to him, "Can you do that?"

Joosh looked dumbstruck, his cheeks going rosy, "Well, of course I can." he ran back to the lab.

"I know who it is," I said, looking to Capper.

"Allen."

* * *

Capper Dapperpaws

We packed some supplies, extra equipment given to us by my brother. Something in him had changed and I saw the cat I knew before the war was even a concept in anypony or any zebra's mind. I hugged him before we left. "Take care of yourself?" I whispered in his ear.

"Always, amigo." he gave me finger guns. Faust I loved that tomcat.

" _By now they've reached the northeast quadrant,"_ said Mist over the radio. " _We can't get them all. Whattaya say Achilles?"_

"I say I do this, you get our friends to the harbor and you even got yourself the first real alliance this island has seen."

" _Not just with you I'm sure, but Aviary would appreciate it."_ Mist laughed.

"How do you know?"

Another voice came on but not from the radio but rather from the facility's long range communications. " _This is Aviary speaking. I think it's been long enough ignoring each other like this."_

The doors closed behind us and I did one last bag check. Memory sphere, or rather Wonder sphere, containing ever piece of information we gathered on my little companion aboard the ship here, check. He winked at me from the trees and disappeared. He'd be back. "One last trip through the fog?" I looked down to my coltfriend.

"One last trip, then we're going home." Blitzy smiled up at me. This island had been good for us. A lot of lessons learned but a lot of cats out of the bag too.

" _Now you two are gonna want to meet us at the old Pep factory off the main road."_ said Mist on our portable radios. " _Be careful, there's some of Allen's stallions in the trees."_

So the main roads were out, but back alleys were just my style. I waved Blitz on, and he followed me. Disappearing like a slinking shadow we went down the the hill and took the gravel road through the trees. There were probably still hostiles out here, but not as many as the main road and I could rely on my coltfriend to detect any coming at us with his Pip-Buck and EFS. Magic sure did come in handy, I think that's something we could all agree on.

"I mean, we all have it, regardless of race or breed," said Chess who was running beside me.

Bullets carved their way through a few trees behind us, the thinner ones shredded into shrubs. "They're here!" Blitz called. I grabbed his hoof and we ducked into the woods.

We had to take it slower here, but I had a machete and I cut us a path forward. Then I stopped. Blitz caught on fast, knowing what it was. I had seen movement in the trees. "Stallion or swamp creature?" I elbowed him.

"I don't know that!" Blitz stuck his tongue out at me and elbowed me back.

"Right."

"But I do," said Chess, whispering in my ear. "And you won't like what you find."

I tugged on my coltfriend's vest, "We better move, Chess thinks it's a swamp monster."

"I didn't say that!" he crossed his arms.

"But you implied it," I shot back at him.

"Implications are my game, my friend." he snickered.

We chased each other to the left, going around the creature and away from the road. "Ay yi yikes!" I exclaimed, my Pantheran accent coming out hard as my arm snagged on some branches, leaving a clawmark shaped cut. I gathered up the lapel of my trenchcoat and flicked my fluffy tail then hopped after Blitz.

Cutting him off before he could go any further, we stopped and I held up an arm as I slunk down and peered through the branches of the trees. I looked in both directions, my green eyes glowing in the dark. The trees were clear of signs of danger, and I could see the silhouette of the Pep factory. "It's quiet. _Too_ quiet." I rubbed my chin as I pondered.

"Oh hush you." Blitz shoved past me and out of the trees. I rushed after him, rolling under the reaching twigs and landing on my feet beside him.

"Cat's still got game." I said to myself.

We were on the steps to the door, not intending to go in, but looking around instead when we heard the creaking of a rusty gate. I lifted my paws in fists, kitty claws equipped. "Blitz, Capper, is that you?" called Mist Haze.

"Yep!" Blitz replied.

"I've got Sundance with me. He was shot, but a health potion fixed him up fine."

"Alright, we won't shoot."

The two approached from the side of the building. Mist was fiddling with her saddle bag. Sundance was covered in bandages. From his chest down half his torso, he looked like a boxing fighter. He wore the pleather skirts of arcana gear, but nothing else. He looked like a real wasteland vet, I'd give him that. More battle hardened than I had been when I escaped my hometown with my long gone friend so so long ago. I was just a lucky cat lord, but this pony seemed to have seen some stuff.

"You've been through tartarus my friend," I patted him on the shoulder. Just then gunshots sounded.

"And we are not out yet." Sundance cleared his throat, then spinning around, he tossed some grenades in the direction of the onslaught. Not just one grenade. I admired his style. His pleather flapped as he jumped away and we took cover behind some dumpsters. Mist and Blitz had ducked behind a parked car and were shooting without looking.

"What now?" Mist asked Blitzfire.

"We go down that way, using the trucks as cover." he was pointing to the road leading to the harbor town. It was littered with abandoned delivery trucks, "Pep In Your Step" written on the sides of every one. "Capper, we're moving out!" he yelled to me. I nodded and smiled at the priest beside me.

"Don't fear these darkened alleys." I winked at him and swept off. The tail of my coat rustled in the wind and I heard Sundance close behind me.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"There will be more the closer we get to town," said Mist a little while later. We'd all been keeping quiet as we watched the sun get closer to the horizon. Just a few more hours left till it set.

"I'm counting on it." I told her. "Don't worry, we have an ally in Aviary."

"She likes you," Mist noted.

"That's good."

There was gunfire off in the distance, the sounds of a struggle. It was in the direction of town, so it looked like Allen's ponies had finally decided to break from the herd and go completely against Aviary. "We goin' in?" asked Capper.

"It could be anypony in there, but we've got to help them," I said to him, always the knack for getting into trouble.

 _Perhaps it's more than that,_ I thought to myself as we ran into the line of fire for ponies we barely knew. Raising my gun and firing at Allen's stallions, it made me think on all the times I was willing to help ponies before this, without a second thought. Without really knowing the reason why. As my hooves snapped over loose twigs in the broken street, my heart panged with the memories. I was trying so hard to bury it, but sooner or later it was going to come out. Perhaps sooner. With that in my mind, I fought hard, blood of my enemies spraying over broken down vehicles, trees and brush.

There was a cliffside, looking over the shoreline far below, ocean crashing against rocks and leaving behind foam, only to come back to do the same again. Some hard fought unseen battle. I bit my lip as I heard Capper's paws slipping through the short grass before it turned to stone here. "Hey." I said as I watched the crystal blue sparkles on the coast. The harbor town was visible from here as well, and I saw ponies getting ready to fight. Allen would lose, but he and his were resilient, I'd give them that.

"I can't sneak up on you anymore, can I?" Capper snickered.

"No, I don't think so." I looked to him and smiled. He laughed at me and pat my mane. I tried to sneak out from under him, sticking my tongue out.

"Time to go?" asked Mist, who was more nimble than any of us. She barely made a whisper as her light hooves approached. She looked different with that large automatic weapon strapped to her back.

"What are you gonna do?" I bit my lip. We had come all this way for her after all.

"I think I have a new purpose here." she looked off into the distance.

"What, on this nightmare island?" Capper brushed her on the shoulder playfully and she shrugged. Then glancing over her shoulder she nodded to a friend.

"Nightmare's end." said Sundance. There was a second of silence, a pause as we looked at each other.

"Last I remember before you got us here, I was shoving you into a trap door." I winked at him.

"Like I said." he chuckled lightly to himself.

"Don't forget that either," said Mist as we moved away from the cliffs and toward the town, the sun setting behind us.

 _(Footnote: It's nice to see Mist Haze help Blitz and stand up for herself and her people. It's nice that Sundance helped her, and I hope you guys like my take on Far Harbor's Children of Atom. It's a good way to wrap up the Cumberland chapters. It's also good that Blitz was able to retrieve a quest item. This'll help in the future. Stay tuned for more upcoming chapters! Sorry it has been so long! Thank you for your patience. I will try to have Chapters 13 and 14 up asap but here are 11 and 12 for you guys to enjoy! Love all my loyal readers, thanks for sticking with it!)_

 **Brohoof /)**


	13. Chapter 13 What's to Come

**Chapter 13** What's to Come

I was clutching something I'd found in the wastes. It was a girthy syringe with colorful cylinders attached and a couple wires coming out of one and plunging into the other. Capper saw me staring at it. He put a paw on my shoulder and I frowned. It was something called Rage, something I knew a lot about. "You know, I wouldn't necessarily say I'm opposed to these things, but they've always kinda made me uncomfortable."

"You haven't said a word since we left Nakano yonder and the first thing y'all say is about a drug?" Capper was leaning over my shoulder, giving me a wide grin.

I sighed and closed my eyes, "Well on one hoof, this thing helped a lot of ponies fight and win an important battle. On the other, it was a fight in its own just to get it."

"Perfect balance." Capper stroked his chin.

"I'd say imperfect. Just like our whole experience on Cumber."

* * *

 _Pre-War: 12 Years Before The Megaspells_

Pinkie Pie popped a mintal as Nexus and I presided over the controls. "Those things are bad for you," I said to her.

"Soo? So's this whole war! So's Opportunity." her head twisted around like a spring then popped back into place.

"Not exactly," said Nexus and I at the same time then shot each other glances. We knew what was at Opportunity. We'd been there, we'd worked on the project together. An A+ job, but quickly abandoned. Now it was something that even Pinkie agreed we needed. Though she was a bit crazy.

The bird was in the air, hovering, "You ready?" I asked Nexy.

"Crazy as I'll ever be!" said Pinkie, her squeal reverberating around the cockpit.

"I was going to say yes, but now I'm not so sure." said my best friend. But we sped off anyway, towards the dense forests of Everfree.

The night was so dark, the stars were barely visible through the clouds of black smoke coming from a distant burning village. It was terrible. Yet it was something that had to be ignored for now, as our mission was much more important. I felt kind of heartless, trying to put aside the sufferings of ponies we could now easily reach, but Pinkie chewed on her candy drugs without thought and Nexus had his famous intense focus on his one main task. I had to shove away my thoughts, for now, thinking we'd be helping an awful lot more by doing what we're doing now.

It didn't take long to reach the landing port hidden deep in the jungle that nopony knew about because most were too afraid to venture here. However the military had taken advantage of that, using the dangerous wood as a cover for a secret base known as Opportunity. As our large helicopter landed, blossoms began to glow in greeting, the perfect helipad without any of the work. The door opened and we got out one by one, and saw vines retracting.

"This was Zecora's last known location, and I'm sure she's still here." said Nexus. He was looking at a small device in his hoof, it was carved in runes and glowing with magic. It was something made to sense anomalies in the magical atmosphere. It seemed there were plenty of those based on the many zings and blips it gave off and its flashing lights. "There was a fight here."

"LOOOK!" shouted Pinkie Pie and we ran toward her. There was a trail of liquid in the dirt, meaning somepony had been here not too long ago. It was a rich blue in my flashlight, even as it soaked into the brown ground.

"A key ingredient in Rage has been spilled here." Nexus muttered to himself.

"What, are you making a scientist recording?" I teased him. He stuck his tongue out at me and moved off down the path slowly. I noticed hoofprints in the mud and they looked to be a zebra's.

"She went down this way." I moved quickly ahead of Nexus, pointing out the tracks.

"To Beta site then!" Pinkie stuck a hoof in the air, either pointing the way or making a weird salute. Possibly both.

Opportunity was separated into three different branches, all connected by underground tunnels. The Alpha site extended deep underground, into natural caverns converted into laboratories and testing chambers. Beta was just botanical, a place for sampling ingredients in experiments that Nexus and I had been a part of a long time ago. It sent shivers down my spine, but it was something Twilight had wanted.

Far in the thick of the trees I thought I heard the snapping of a branch and I gasped, "Guys did you hear that?"

"What? I didn't hear a thing!" Pinkie laughed and waved us on. At the door she swiped a card and it opened for her. Air wooshed forth and blasted us with a terrible scent.

"Oh Faust," Nexus moaned. We knew that smell all too well. Chemicals from herbs found in Everfree. Somepony had been playing with the plants again.

I shivered. When we passed the rows of once thriving plants, now shrivelled and almost giving up on life, I had to face it. I glanced at Nexus, who had a 9mm pistol raised in his glowing green aura and ready to defend himself, thoughts about the project that went on here filled my head. I had overseen a lot of it. I wouldn't say I was in command here all those years ago but the responsibility wasn't lost on me. Dark times called for even darker measures, and I also remembered the relief that had flooded me when Twilight ordered us to abandon it. But if Zecora was here, then I wouldn't doubt that it was something Equestria still needed. Unethical or not.

Why was she here? What thoughts had filled her head to bring her back here? Nopony was helping her, she was alone in a world that hated her. Or at least what she represented. I wondered if she felt any resentment for ponykind. She had been just as used by us as the rest of Zebricka. Yet she had stayed and continued helping, thinking she could end the conflict. She must hate the Ministries for using her and tossing her aside. Maybe she was here to get revenge.

"These ones are still alive!" Nexus called, sounding horrified. The painful reality had hit him just as hard.

I ran over to him, where he and Pinkie were ogling over some glowing purple leafy vegetation. The plants were sitting in their pots on the long metal table, blooming proudly. "They've been treated."

"This is a good thing!" yelled Pinkie Pie.

The two of us immediately shushed her. "Keep it down!" "Are you crazy?" of course she was. A clanging in the far corner of the room alerted us to the presence of some watcher, sending chills down my spine. We hadn't been alone this whole time. Whoever it was could be heard galloping down the access corridor to the rest of the facility. "Come on!" I called as I didn't hesitate to follow the intruder.

We chased him through an array of computer labs that were long since destroyed by neglect. He was wearing a dark green hoodie with a belt around his waist and we could see he was heavily armed. So the question remained: why wasn't he shooting at us? It probably wasn't his job, and it also meant there were others here he was most likely going to warn. "My guess is that somepony came here to steal the Opportunity project and use it against us!" Pinkie called in a huff from the opposite side of the new corridor we found ourselves in.

Just then we noticed a large set of doors sliding closed. They were slow because I'm sure the hydraulics were faulty plus there was barely any power. We could make it through, we had to! I dived through at the last second, not knowing if my companions were with me. When I heard two other bodies roll and stop behind a set of counters I knew they were still with me. I wound up at a table, hiding between two chairs. I couldn't see anything past this but I heard shuffling hooves in the darkness, past the shapes of more counters. Then I heard a familiar voice, one I hadn't heard in a long time, and my ears perked.

"Now now, this can be settled. No need to feel nettled." it was Zecora!

I hissed some low words to Nexus and Pinkie, "She's in trouble."

Pinkie opened her mouth and Nexus hastily put a hoof tightly over it, "What in tartarus are we going to do?"

"Listen, we don't wanna hurt ya, but if you don't hoof it over, we won't hesitate." it was a gruff male voice. He sounded like a workhorse.

I looked around, assessing our options. I hadn't been in here very often but I knew this area. There were three sets of parallel counters straight ahead of me, there was just the one where Nexus and Pinkie were. They had the most visibility, but if they could be quick enough, I could sneak around the three counters and we could surround them. "You two go that way," I motioned, "We'll ambush them." they nodded.

"Boss there's—" I popped up just as the rat was about to give us away.

"Nopony move!" I yelled as I trained my gun on the biggest looking guy. A bunch of semi-automatic weapons trained on me.

"Ha and what are you gonna do?" asked a rather stunted looking stallion, who came crawling out from behind the bigger one. He was short, but it was the voice that had been threatening Zecora. I shot a quick glance at her, she was watching me carefully, looking completely calm despite the danger.

Two more guns clicked, locked and loaded, from the other side of the group of what I could see was 6 ponies all in hoods. "Drop em and we can all go home!" Pinkie Pie was the loudest mare in the world.

"Shit! Boss!" wailed the guy we'd chased in here.

"Heheh," the runt chuckled turning to face the Minister of Morale. "Look what we have here. Miss crazy psychopath herself."

"I believe you meant to capitalize that title." she winked.

"What?" one of the grunts questioned.

"I'm going to give you to the count of three and then I'm gonna bust a party cannon on your donkeys." she was suddenly looking very angry. I did not like that look of rage on her face.

"The count of three, right." runt rolled his eyes.

"One…" she wasn't kidding.

"Get her boys!" all hell broke loose on that one command. Nexus dived out of the way and I didn't get a chance to see what happened to the Minister as I watched Zecora take advantage of the chaos and run up a flight of stairs to the main command area of the lab. There was a second flight on the opposite side of the room and I ran towards it, meaning to follow her. One of the intruders grunts got in the way.

She dropped her hood, revealing that she was a zebra. Ponies working with zebras, zebras working with ponies. I couldn't tell who the traitors were, it was all too hectic. Her eyes were like marbles, twisting with shades of blue and green, and her mane was worn in an afro. She had on war paint, twisting under her eyes, either leading down to her sadistically smiling mouth or up to her eerily calm eyes. She licked her teeth then pulled out a tomahawk. "Are you kidding me?" it threw me off guard to see she'd brought a knife to a gunfight that I didn't take it seriously enough until I saw it flying right at me. I spun away, trying to dodge but there was a searing pain in my chest.

"Buck!" I screamed but adrenaline filled me as I saw her running up that second staircase I'd mentioned earlier. I ignored the pain and ran to save Zecora.

I saw the enemy and began shooting at her whipping tail but then I had to stop when I saw her engage in combat with the other zebra. It was like watching a well choreographed dance. I know it sounded cliche, but when the enemy zebra lashed out at Zecora with butterfly knives, Zecora bent backwards on her hind legs to avoid it then flipped back and bucked her in the chest. However, the enemy used a wheeled chair to shove herself away then used the same momentum to come right back with a hard punch. Zecora took it full force, but then spun around to land a kick.

The second zebra saw me coming and tossed a knife. I shot at it and it went flying away. She cursed under her breath and Zecora leapt onto her, pinning her down. I pointed my gun at her but Zecora slammed a hoof down, knocking her out cold. "No need for more misery, it'll only lend more salt to injury. The battle is done, and we have won. But why have you come? I asked for no one."

"Well we couldn't very well leave our favorite zebra to die, now could we!" Pinkie laughed as she appeared through a stream of confetti falling around her. "Good call on leaving her alive, we can _question_ her about why she's here."

"I suppose you will question me on the same, but do not cast your blame." Zecora's cool broke and she bit her lip as she handed Pinkie the object she'd been protecting. A syringe with two cylinders attached.

"Yeah, why are you here? I thought you were glad to leave this place," Nexus was behind me.

"I do not forget the horror this has brought, but far worse could be wrought. In this time of great undoing, I felt an herbal remedy was best for brewing."

She looked downright sad about it, but worst had come to worst. "We all hate that it's come to this, but if it'll help us win, then it's for the best." I told her. She just looked at me with sorrow.

"You know," said Pinkie, popping another mintal in her mouth as we left, "it fills me with rage that anypony would try to steal from Equestria."

"Rage, what a name for this sage." Zecora as always used wordplay to make a reference, as in the herbs from Everfree used to help make this drug.

"I can't believe it was just left here." Nexus said to me as the unconscious zebra floated behind him. I couldn't believe we were taking it out with us.

* * *

 _Present Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

"It's a double edged sword." I said as I finished recounting the story. "On one hoof, it helped win a lot of important battles that got a lot of ponies to safety. On the other, I saw reports of soldiers who made it to Stables before I became Overseer of mine, a sort of prep I suppose, and it was not good…"

"Now, I don't know about all this double edge mumbo jumbo," Capper rolled his wrist around then put his paw down on my shoulder, "But if yo' trying to compare it to what happened on Cumber…"

"I just feel that we went there to save one pony and we only created more problems." I sighed.

"I think they've got a far easier problem to resolve now than they did before, don'tchu?" Capper smiled down at me. "Why don'tchu keep the chem, put it in your pocket. Outta sight outta mind mindset, for now."

I looked up at him and gave a hesitant laugh, "Then what?"

"I never had no problem with chems really. I wasn't one to dish em out, but I wasn't gonna judge if somepony off the street wanted help finding some addictol." Capper winked at me like that was some hint at something else. I suppose I couldn't say he was a bad smooth talker, because I didn't feel as bad about slipping it into my inventory. I'd never had a problem with drugs themselves just circumstances surrounding them. "Why don't we put on some tunes and see where our journey takes us next?"

We went walking through the streets of the Back Bray, heading back towards Double Diamond City, perhaps planning on contacting Piper and the mayor and seeing how things were going there. Then a voice sounded on my Pip Buck I hadn't thought about in awhile. DJ Pon3 howled in greeting, and I remembered why I didn't listen to the radio much. He reminded me too much of what happened in Bittsberg.

" _Good afternoon ladies and gentlecolts! How y'all doin' on this fine fine day? I don't know 'bout y'all, but after pickin' up on some great news, I feel a lot better about this crappy world we live in. Now I just heard tell some Minute Hooves ben helpin' some folks in Broncston, and pushing back some raiders. They'd have a lot better time of it if they could take their old resting grounds back from reportedly a strange mutant. That's all I know, and hey, maybe somepony listening can help out! Keep fighting the good fight—"_

I switched it off and stopped in the middle of the street. Capper had been strolling along the sidewalk but he stopped when he realized I wasn't keeping up. "I don't think I want to listen to the radio anymore."

"What's wrong?" he asked. I bit my lip as he came to join me and I thought about mentioning my old friends from Bittsberg, and how one of them used to listen to DJ Pon3 a lot.

Instead I said, "I know the Minute Hooves. I kinda forgot about them till now."

"You thinkin' you wanna go help them?" Capper grinned.

Slowly I nodded, "We'll need to trek to Sanctuary, which is further from here than DDC." I told him.

"Never heard of it, but I don't got anything better to do, do you?" he laughed. I laughed too.

Dust burst in a spot in the pavement right by my hooves. Just another hole in the millions already on this street. I was starting to get used to all this by now, and I already had my gun out before Capper even shouted, "We got raiders!" they must've had suppressors because I hadn't heard a single shot. We dove behind some parked cars to take cover and make a plan.

"Since when are they smart enough to mod their weapons?" I breathed heavily as I looked around frantically for our attackers.

"Beats me." Capper shrugged paws up style.

I plucked two apples from my vest. "Last two apple grenades. We don't know how many there are—"

"But we can make em run scared." Capper gave me finger guns.

He took one and on three we tossed them at the same time in two different directions of the same general vicinity. I heard shouts and saw a couple ponies dive out of the way. One was more flying than diving and he crashed into the brick wall of a mechanics shop, dead. I heard shouts coming from the alley behind said shop and smirked at Capper. "I hear about 4-5." Enemy markers were already appearing on my compass.

"Never too smart, are they now." Capper stood with his kitty claws bared but I saw his fists beginning to glow from the arcana he'd unlocked on Cumber. I bet it was all the radiation there. As I peppered the few visible enemies with bullets from an old shotgun Capper created two blue orbs in his paws he gave them curious glances, looked around and locked eyes with an invisible spectator then threw the orbs at another raider brave enough to face us. When they struck him it looked like a huge wave of water splashed him in the face. "I think I'm gettin' the hang of this moola!" he snickered and tossed a couple more. The raider was literally drowning in his barrage and fell down choking.

"They're crazy!" yelled one raider, who I shot in the head after pinpointing him from the source of his sound.

"They gotta be mutated!" yelled a mare who I also shot as she tried to dart to another car after yelling and giving herself up.

"And they gotta be dumbasses." I rolled my eyes.

"All raiders are, what are ya gonna do?" Capper laughed as he tossed some orange orbs in a random direction. The magic acted like grenades, a bit less powerful than my apples but still effective in freaking the last of the raiders out.

A bunch could be seen breaking their positions and running through the alley to escape. "Say, you up for a goose chase, friend?" Capper smirked at me as he had a blue orb in one paw and an orange in the other.

"Not sure why you're calling it that, but I'm game." I shrugged and threw the shotgun to the side as it was out of bullets. I drew my trusty revolver.

"Because there really ain't a point to chasing them down when they're just this easy!" Capper yelled it like a war cry and I had no choice but to go after him into the alley.

Neither of us made anymore hostile moves beside chasing them down, but when I looked at him, his energy made me smile. I was actually enjoying the activity of chasing down raiders. Not because violence was fun, I had no standpoint on that either way, but because being with him made me happy even after all the hardships we'd faced. I could forget that he had feelings for Chess, I could forget he neglected to mention his brother, because in the end the wasteland made everypony into a worse version of yourself. Seeing that he could stand up and take it and still have the energy to smile made me feel better.

That is until the raiders became scared of something much worse than a crazy puddy tat and an excellent marksstallion. We reached what looked like a once beautiful public park surrounded by historical buildings. The raiders all stopped in their tracks, trying to backpedal, looking around at each other with horrified faces and looking over their shoulders at us with wide eyes then at the fenced in area in front of them. They all scattered at once, not giving a care for any of their comrades nor us who could kill them at any moment for their lack of strategy. I didn't get what the big deal was. But apparently Capper did when I saw him do a double take and skid to a halt, and for cartoon effect, smoke coming from his heels.

"What, what is it?" I couldn't help but feel the odd one out from a bunch of deviants and my own tomfriend.

"You gonna tell me you don't know?" he rose a skeptical brow at me then realized I didn't. "You make journeys all across the map looking for Stable-Tech secrets, but you don't take much time to look into the places your goin' do ya?"

"Treasure hunting isn't really about what the place is about, it's more about finding what I'm looking for and moving on."

"I got a thing or two to teach you about treasure hunting, but first I got a thing or two to teach you about Swan Lake." the ground began to shake.

"See here," he snapped his fingers then leapt to the iron fence, easily balancing himself on it and walking along. He pointed a glowing claw at a large mass rising from the pond. I stepped out of the alley, and that's when my Pip Buck informed me

You have discovered

SWAN LAKE

Capper grabbed a lampost near the fence and swung around it to avoid a pike then continued walking along the fence.

"You've got yourself a case of class A mutation. Don't get too close folks, it might rub off." he smirked at a joke I didn't know or get.

"I ain't done now." He waggled a finger and jumped off the fence to the sidewalk underneath the open gate. "He ain't a pretty picture, and he towers above the rest. Nopony has seen anything else quite like him. Except maybe one or two others out there in the wild wild wastes." Capper shrugged. "This one's the residential superstar of Broncston and the Back Bray to be more specific." he started walking toward the thing, getting ideas. With two new orbs he lashed out. It only made the creature angry. My Pip Buck labelled it as BEHEMOTH: SWAN.

"They call him a behemoth," he saw me raising my gun and as I fired he used two paws to create a large white ball of mana. Little pinpricks of light shot from it and latched onto the already flying bullets.

The mutant had bulging arms and it had taken what looked like pieces of a swan styled paddle boat to wear as armor. It picked up a huge piece of debris from the pond and tossed it at us. Capper leapt into the air and I saw magic flowing all around.

He landed on all four paws, back arched, on a chunk of road in the water and was facing the Swan head on, "Now to just avoid his massive hammer thingie!" the hammer swung and was aiming to strike him! Capper lifted his paw and what looked like the glowing orange translucent wheel of a pirate ship spun around and then came full circle suddenly as a shield instead.

When the hammer hit him I saw some of his HP fall as he was tossed into the air like shrimp and smash into the old husk of a Tour Bus, what Pinkie Pie called one of the many types of cruiser tanks she commissioned. I had a brief flash of memory in which either she or some soldiers in flashy armor cruised around in them to quote and quote "keep the peace." They were meant for show not war these ones.

I shook my head, getting my cool back to focus on the battle at hoof. However, all thinking was not lost on the cruiser as I remembered a lot were also used to conceal weapons for transport. "Capper, the bus!" I shouted as he picked himself up.

"Bus?" He looked around in a daze. "Oh, Pinkie's Tour Bus." he laughed to himself. "What about it?"

"It should have better weapons to use against this thing!"

"How do y'all know all _that_ now?" he scratched his head but ducked inside regardless. Now the Swan was focused on me.

I jumped back as he smashed his hammer into the road I had just been standing in. The big guy moved quite fast, but now that I saw him out of water, I think that was only in the pond. He'd reached this spot quickly from there but now he was lumbering. Capper emerged from the tank looking pleased. "This'll do, but come get it fast!"

The hammer smashed down again, and there was no way I was getting there like this. Capper shot a red orb at me which stopped before hitting me and another spot of magic dosed me like with the bullets. I suddenly felt energized, and my hooves did a little dance before I darted between cars like I'd trained to be a race horse all my life instead of an Overseer. I was near Capper before I knew it and he tossed me a large weapon. It was heavy on my shoulder but I hoisted it.

I was now carrying a T-shirt cannon, Pinkie's name for an amplified rocket launcher she, Rarity and Dash had worked on. It relied heavily on arcane tech to bolster the missile inside. This packed thrice the punch of a normal bazooka. I fired it and it hit the behemoth square on. He was thrown back but terrifyingly not knocked off his feet.

Capper handed me another missile. When I fired again, I felt the full force of the recoil. I had felt it before but I was losing my steam and I dropped the weapon. "There ain't no more missiles anyway." Capper shrugged and we took cover on the other side of the tank.

"Capper, I'm struggling here." I wheezed.

"He's a tough guy, many have tried and failed, might I add, to take him down."

"Then what the hell are we doing?" I felt my heartbeat speed up.

Capper put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't you worry. Did ya forget, you got a nice trump card up your sleeve. Or rather in your pocket."

"You mean the…Rage?" I eyed him warily. Just then the hammer swung full force into the tank and I felt the impact through the whole hull.

"Yes, and whatever you decide I support you in full, baby. But you're gonna need to decide right now."

I slipped it out of my vest and held it in my hooves. The stomps of the Swan were only seconds away. I gulped and sucked it up. I stuck the needle in my foreleg as fast as I could and pressed the grip down. It gurgled and I felt cool liquid course through my veins. Then I felt my heart racing and my mind reeling. "Your eyes supposed to do that? Get bigger?"

"Buck that!" I ran out from behind the metal shell just as it was getting smashed in and didn't even look back as Capper did a magically aided back flip away. I grabbed onto the shaft of the hammer, much too big for me, and ripped it from the monster's grip. Then with the strength I could muster, which was a lot but I was only doing once no matter how long the drug's effects lasted, I smashed the beast and let go of the hammer in the momentum. For a second I thought it was getting up, then it struggled to just its four hooves and that's when I noticed.

It was definitely a pony, but horribly deformed to the point of bulging and bubbling masses that caused it to grow uncontrollably. The then Overseer and now treasure hunter in me took those observations but the Rage and Capper's magic in me ran full speed at the thing without stopping for a second after tossing that toy and tackled it. I was punching it over and over. Capper came in behind me and pulled me from it, then he put his paws together and a blue and white beam of light finished the bitch off just as I was laying on the street in the dust on my back, holding myself up from my forelegs. The light shone upon me, making everywhere else seem super dark.

When it dimmed to nothing Capper backed up from the finished off corpse of the behemoth. I was breathing heavily and still felt ready to tear into more enemies. "I think I'm getting the hang of this magic stuff." he said to nopony in particular then his laugh that came after a brief pause reminded me that our duo was a trio. I tried to hold back my anger but I needed to let it out as the battle was over and I was still Raging.

"Why'd you do that!? I had him!"

"Calm down, Blitzy, you still got a buzz from that chem." Capper offered a paw and I took it, letting him help me up.

My eyes darted around and I felt jumpy. But now that the heat of battle was fading away there was something else. A pulsing energy. Things started bursting with dark shades of red in my vision and I laughed heartily. Then I yelled, "I'll kill them all!" My hooves were dancy, and I fucking bolted. "Capper, we're still heading to Sanctuary, get a Faust damn move on!" this felt good.

"Okay there warhorse." Capper was laughing out loud. I was way ahead of him but I wouldn't lose track of him. I loved him too much. The energy that I put into my rage was also going into my emotions for him.

"Faust I wanna fuck him so bad right now." I wondered if this is how raiders felt after doing this shit.

"I heard that!" Capper yelled to me. I stopped in my tracks and let him catch up. I was dodgy, looking everywhere at all the shadows trying to lash out at us.

"Didn't mean for you too."

We kept moving and we heard a gunfight. I thought it was in the distance but for some reason it kept getting closer. I put it off as the Rage making me paranoid but then Capper pulled me to a stop. "You hear that?"

"And don't come back you hear?!" a mare was yelling loudly.

I saw a raider dart by an alleyway, and it looked like one that we'd chased to Swan Lake. We ran toward the direction of the shout and saw a mare walking away from what looked like an old convenience store situated between two unidentifiable buildings that had been boarded up. I saw ponies inside working to fortify the location. As this was a T-intersection, and it was at the head of the perpendicular street, it would be a good place to defend. "Wait up!"

The mare turned to us as we ran up and thank Faust the Rage was wearing off as I'd done my best to exert extra energy in the few blocks from the Lake. I'm sure if I hadn't been fighting it would've lasted way longer which is probably how ponies got addicted to it. Misuse. I shook myself off, jittery but calm again. I'd think about everything later. First I wanted to ask about this shop and why she was leaving in such a hurry.

"Who are you?" she asked, adjusting her wide brimmed hat. Cords on it were hanging into her big white scarf.

"My name's Ravager Blitzfire, this is Capper."

"Blitz—oh! I know you, or at least, I've heard of you. Press talks about you. Wondered where you'd gone off to."

"Oh, so you're a Minute Hoof?"

"That's correct."

"Where you off to in such a hurry?" I asked her.

"Back to Sanctuary to request backup at this location. There's a chem station so we could brew up lots of potions and remedies for the homefront." she smiled with her eyes closed, looking all cute.

"Well, it seems like you have some authority here, am I right?" Capper leaned closer to her, one paw beneath his chin inquisitively.

"I suppose, but I had to show leadership, bravery, by going back to get more ponies to help." she looked flustered.

"Two things wrong with that," Capper held up his paw pads to count it off, "One, you're leaving your compatriotes and two, you got us now so don't worry!"

"Oh! Really?"

"We were heading to Sanctuary to see if Press could use some help with the Castle anyway. We heard about it on the radio." I shrugged, nonchalant.

"Okay!" she did a little jump, "The raiders seem to be camping out in a factory warehouse type building a mile or so up the road," she pointed at the street leading directly away from the convenient store. "They've laid out heavy traps so none of us have dared go up there. Are you sure?"

"I think we can avoid them," I nodded.

"I'm light on my feet," Capper winked.

"Alright! Gives me more time to set up shop here. The boys would love it if I stayed. And Shell…" she trailed off as she wandered back to the storefront. Then she stopped cold. "Oh, I was so busy thinking about all this nasty business and how Press looks so fondly on you that I forgot to mention that he's not the only one talking about you."

My blood ran cold for a second. That could mean a million things and anxiety flushed through me. "What does that mean?" I demanded a bit too harshly.

"A little orange pony and a huge armored guy looking like a Steel Ranger but with a way slicker face mask came into town only a few days ago. They wanted the Minute Hooves to spread the word that Bittsberg was safe and that they were looking for you." she saw my uneasiness and gave me a reassuring smile. "If it helps I'll send you off with supplies when you get back so you can more easily make your way to them. They seem important by the way you're giving me dagger eyes."

I kicked up some dust lightly with one hoof and barely uttered, "Um, yeah." she hopped off inside, too perky for her own good.

 _(Footnote: Can you believe the size of that Swan?! It was no ugly duckling that was for sure. Keep in mind they agree to help the Minute Hooves now, so don't forget about the little quip from DJ Pon3, it's a reference for later in the story. Also if you remember in the flashback, the butterfly knife/tomohawk slices Blitz in the chest. Where do you think he got his scar? Also, I believe that finally wraps up that little flashback storyline! Anyway, can't wait to post the next Chapter, let's keep this rolling!)_

 **Brohoof! /)**


	14. Chapter 14 Where Are We Now?

**Chapter 14** Where Are We Now?

Stroking my back softly, Capper managed to keep good pace as I shuffled along. "You wanna talk about it?"

"We gotta look out for traps." I bit my lip. Then lifted my head and focused solely on the road ahead.

"Okay, it's no problemo because I'm okay waiting until you're ready." he smiled, good ol' flashy Capper not a care in the world. But something in his words felt off. Like he was struggling too.

"I…understand that you're feeling mixed feelings about the way I'm treating what's supposed to be good news." I said then just stopped talking. I couldn't bring myself to even think about what came after that sentence.

"I am just not visualizing "good" from your very off-putting demeanor." he did a twirl in front of a shop with a faded sign hinting at " _a kid's delight,"_ hopefully a candy shop, to give me a straightforward look. Then he just faced front again, paws in the pockets of his coat.

"Can I just have time to think it through before I say the wrong things and cause an argument?" I flicked my eyes to check the street for hostiles and saw a still spinning barber's pole. Probably the wind, but I saw the past flowing neatly upward into a spiraling void. It was anxiety, telling me there was nothing good waiting in the future because of everything wrong with my past. But then there was Cappy strolling along beside me whistling a happy tune from one of the feel good songs DJ Pon3 liked to play after some big speil.

 _Okay,_ I thought to myself as I sidestepped a jagged rim that had rolled onto the sidewalk, _get it together. Why do you feel so rough about Orange Juice? Because you left him alone in Bittsberg? Your coltfriend? You said he'd help you find Nexy and you left! I left because I'll never find Nexus and even if I do he'll just kill me on sight. I can't have Orange Juice seeing—_

"You're gonna wanna step aside!" Capper had leapt into me, narrowly saving me from stepping on a landmine.

We were in an area that looked like it consisted mostly of apartment buildings and small burnt out coffee shops. "How long have we been walking?"

"Right, that is the pressing issue here." he put his hands on his hips. "Regardless, about 20 to 30 minutes. The factory is just over that crest." he pointed to a big warehouse with smoke stacks that was up a steep hilled road.

"Sorry. I'm usually more observant than this."

"You're gonna wanna observe harder bigshot, because the traps are well laid out for any fleet of foot wannabe." he grinned at himself for that one but then grew serious again.

"I get it. I'm a liability right now."

"Not if you're up for some chit-chat." he bent at the knees and used his elbows for support to get eye level.

"Orange Juice obviously." I huffed. There I finally said it.

"Like you want some orange juice?" I gave him a harrowing look at the comment. "Okay okay," he held up his paws in surrender. "Just talk to me."

"I was dating him before I left him in the dust like I do everywhere I go. I hurt everypony I get too close to."

"I'm not everypony so I'd say that's untrue."

"Will you just let me talk?" he nodded. "I told him he'd get to help me find my so called long lost friend but it just wasn't reality. Now he's here, somewhere in Broncston, and knowing him he'll probably hop right back aboard that long burned bandwagon." I paused, looking him deep in the eyes to signal I was ready for him to talk.

"Ah, I see what's happening here. You're having regrets. Well you have me, and I can sweet talk a mugger." he pointed thumbs at himself.

"That's not reassuring."

"Are you scared he'll hate you? Because from the memories I know I should not have seen, he's the forgiving type."

"That's why I feel so bad about it! He has a right to be mad."

"Then explain it to him baby, let him know he should be mad, and even if he's not, let him help you understand why he isn't." Capper put his paws on my shoulders and made me make eye contact with him. "Whatever happens, it'll work out fine."

"I'm just guilty."

"Guilt is a strange bedfellow, don't let it take over, babe." he stopped to kiss me and I let myself melt into it. I wanted him to be right, to feel like I didn't need to be guilty. I decided to forget about it.

A ping rang through the air as a bullet barely missed us and we broke our kiss far too early. "Aww they scuffed my coat! Perkin will not be thrilled for this." he threw up his arms.

"And they interrupted my make out session." I winked at him then snarled toward the warehouse. They must have a sniper.

Capper snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. "What the?" he looked at his paw.

"Are you trying to make the magic happen?"

"Don't you know it." he smirked at me. "But it's not coming now. Guess I'll just have to resort to the old fashioned way."

"What's that? Kitty claws?" I smiled.

He pulled out a zebrickan sword, "No! I'm gonna show no mercy!"

"Where in tartarus do you get all these things?" I said in exasperation, but he was already not paying attention and instead running full on for the warehouse. I followed fast.

You have discovered

LOWER BRONCSTON SPARKLE-COLA PLANT

There must've been only one sniper defending this side of the building because the bullets that rang out were unable to hit a couple of zig zagging moving targets. We burst through the doors, instantly met by raiders who'd been playing inside. Their use of suppressors gave them a disadvantage this time as their cocky sniper hadn't warned them and there hadn't been the sound of bullets either. They dropped their card game in anger and picked up some nearby weapons but Capper beat them to the punch. He sliced one with his sword and they went jeering away. One pointed a gun at him and got his hoof sliced off.

I took out the last two. Then the two of us lowered our weapons. "We're going to need to take out the leader if we want the rest to scatter."

Capper stroked his chin, "If I were the leader of a ragtag team of raiders, where would I be?"

"Probably in the manager's office." I rose a brow at him.

We took the first staircase we found and came to a rusted balcony looking over the production yard. There were vats filled with nasty looking liquid that must've once been Sparkle-Cola. But it wasn't even that. We heard chatter from down below and outta sight through the grated floor and Sparkle-Cola was reduced to nothing but waste. I put my hooves on the chipped yellow painted railing, listening.

"Yeah the brews are going great. This place was the perfect place to set up shop. If only we could get rolling on that Malice."

"Never heard of that one before." said Capper in hushed tones.

Another voice, "We will once we take out those stupid Minute Hooves." the voice was gruff and had an air of power.

"You don't think the boss is right down there instead?" I gave Capper a sideways look.

He grabbed the rail and swung over it, shouting, "Let's find out." I peered over the edge to see him running beneath the balcony with his sword swinging.

I ran to the stairway leading to the factory floor and chased after him. With one hoof against the pistol I had raised, I sent shots off toward the raiders shooting at Capper. I was covering him and his foolhardy approach seemed to keep him out of harm's way. I mean I'd be missing too if the shock of a crazy cat guy running at me without a care was hitting too.

A raider wearing heavier armor than the rest was backing into the doorway with a homemade sign on it reading "Top Notch Only." I let Capper take care of business here. I had a date in there.

I slammed the door shut behind me and went into a dark hallway. Somewhere I heard laughter. I felt a bit creeped out, not knowing what his plan was to defend himself. He seemed confident and I was going in blind. I squinted in the dark, picking out stacks of boxes leaning precariously in every direction. They looked full of items, and on closer look I got the feeling that the raiders had put them here and that they weren't old.

"Come on in little pony!" I heard a shout from a room that had a flickering light. When I entered I saw the place was lit by candles and that the raider boss was standing on a table waiting for me.

"Okay, this is crazy." I rolled my eyes.

"No, you're crazy." was the response. Just then two explosions went off near me and an industrial light flicked on right in my face. I was thrown back and knocked against the wall and my Pip Buck warned me of low HP. Two raiders were coming toward me and I saw the raider boss turning around to focus on a large contraption. It looked like a workbench. I had to find out what was going on.

I took a swig of a health potion and jumped up, bucking one raider and firing at the other. The first was down but I missed with my bullets and the gun was knocked from my hoof. He smirked at me and lifted his hooves in challenge. I stood back on my hind legs and threw a bunch, but only hit his oncoming hoof. We both drew back, shaking off the pain. I snarled and leapt for my gun and he leapt for me. I grabbed the hilt and turned the barrel on him just in time to get a headshot.

"Shit, this ain't gonna work either! Why couldn't those dumbasses just have gotten into that store?" Just as he was making his final complaints I cocked the gun with the barrel pressed against his head. "Looks like they can't get anything right." he was grumbling. I pulled the trigger but he had already begun a twist and ducked. I shot the big workbench machine thing instead and he was on his back, bucking and I yet again lost my revolver. That pissed me off.

I leaned in on him in the cramped space, making it impossible for him to get up. I put my hooves down hard on his collarbone and he choked but he was still lashing out. I gripped his neck and he kicked me but I did not let go. "This is over," I snapped and pressed down hard. I heard a sickening crack and he looked at me with wide eyes. Then he went limp, eyes dead.

I shoved him aside, picked up my gun then turned my attention to the big modded out workbench. It was a chemistry station but tricked out with Sparkle-Cola gadgets. They were using the soda ingredients in whatever drug they were making, plus a bunch more chems. This looked crazy but as I got closer I saw lists of ingredients with instructions and notes. They had been trying to create a drug that gave earth ponies arcane abilities for a brief instance.

There were notes on experiments where some earth ponies saw auras and started to draw on that but then a high kicked in making them freak out and tweak. There were some anti-psychotics in the pharmacy at the convenience store the raiders here thought would take the high down to a safe level before they could tweak and they'd feel great while still taking advantage of the drug. There was another note about a stock of Sparkle-Cola that had been shipped to that store, and only that store, that could cause the earth ponies to be able to completely steal a unicorn's magic and leave him lifeless when mixed with everything else they had here. Sounded like some Tirek level bullshit.

Then I saw a satchel and I opened it up. A few syringes spilled out along with boxes of ingredients listed on these notes. I had found the latest prototype. It was labelled "incomplete" and "not ready for experiments" and a sticky-note attached said it was the closest they'd gotten and adding the Sparkle-Cola X would most definitely work based on experiments with the last prototype. I took all the notes they had and stuffed it into the stachel then slid the strap around my neck just as I heard somepony else coming into the room. I stuffed the bag into my vest and used a grenade buckle to keep it hidden when I recognized it was Capper's paw shuffling.

"Trying to be sneaky?" He asked. I turned around and hid my guilt.

I kissed him, breathing, "Not particularly. I know we've locked this little routine in."

"Let's go give the Minute Hooves the good news so we can head on to Sanctuary."

"Where we will be seeing more of said Minute Hooves." he winked.

* * *

We returned to the store, where the mare who had first greeted us gave us a warm welcome. "I suppose there's no longer need to call backup here then." her smile made her eyes glittery. She had two younger stallions help us with re-upping our supplies. Then I saw towards the back of the store the drug counter. I felt the weight of the Malice plans near my chest and I bit my lip. I took a look around to make sure nopony was looking then trotted lightly over there. I undid the top part of my vest and withdrew the satchel, opening it and retrieving the notes. Chems and drugs with long name that hadn't been crossed out, things that hadn't been tried yet.

I breathed. Sometimes it was better just in case. I didn't need it nor did I intend to use it. But something told me we wouldn't have been drawn to this place, those raiders, if it wasn't important. Maybe I was taking a shot in the dark, but I was remembering odd things at odd times that made me stop to think. What was the point? There had to be one. I hoped I could find one. So instead of blindly following raider written instructions, I read the notes to get a better understanding.

 _Mintals Level: Key ingredient- Levellium. Gives the user a level head and higher perception._

 _Steadfast: a refined version of Steady found in select stores throughout Lower Broncston. Will reduce paranoia caused by earlier prototypes. Steady will not suffice._

 _Party Foul: a drug discovered and kept secret by the minister of image, there is only one known location, a convenience store near a Sparkle-Cola plant in Lower Broncston. It is a psychedelic plant that reports found in one of few intact government buildings in Canterlot state the minister found in the Everfree Forest when she apparently nearly caused a scandal that had to be covered up. I mean, can you believe it?! She apparently used this in secret as a way to curve her addiction to mintals._

Two weird things hit me at once, the fact that I did not know Pinkie Pie discovered some new drug on our trip to save Zecora, and that I knew she'd been to a convenience store in Lower Broncston but nopony would tell anypony else why. Just that a few newspapers had released it, Nexus had one of the only few copies of each one of said papers, and that he'd shown me them and I decided they were of no consequence. So many government cover ups that all made a little more sense. I shook my head realizing I had had a role in some without any knowledge.

Looking at ingredients the raiders had decided to keep I thought to myself I knew which ones I would get rid of from the product already in my possession and ones I would add just to make a better version of it against the raiders based on these notes. I thought, maybe if, big _if,_ I ever thought it best to create this new chem, best to have an idea, a plan, in place for it. Faust only knew I loved my plans, the ones that got me Overseer position in the first place. All my big stunts with Nexus I went along with. It was shaky to think back on it and see how every little action got you where you were.

I thought best to steer clear of any mintals, remembering how I hated that Pinkie used them so excessively. I didn't know if I wanted to poke around with anything derived from Steady but it was a more refined version. Didn't mean better, but no harm in taking it. I slipped it into the satchel as I walked by, looking like somepony back in the day of video surveillance trying to trick the cctv camera. Then for this Party Foul. I imagined something like that would be hidden in the back room under some loose floorboard or something. Pinkie had been dragged out of this place like some superstar on a mental breakdown. At least, as far as I could remember the front page picture of her.

Strangely enough, when I looked for the Sparkle-Cola X in the freezer storage area first, I found a few empty bottles with a sealed wrap around them to make them look full with no second glances. Peeling back the wrap I saw inside were fuzzy purple leafy items and it smelled terrible when I popped the cap of one. I quickly found something to cork it and stuffed a few lighter bottles into the satchel and took a few of the drinks for my saddle bags. Those would look normal enough.

"What are you doing in here?" the leader of this small group of Minute Hooves had seen me.

I lifted a bottle, "Just checking out the drinks. It's labelled with an X, I've never heard of it."

"We've all taken a look at the strange version of Equestria's beloved soda and none of us think it'd be safe to try." she took the bottle from my hoof and rolled it around between in hers, looking at the backside of the label.

"They wouldn't have shipped it here if they didn't think it safe for consumption." I chuckled lightheartedly.

"Well…the delivery truck is actually still around the block, parked perfectly like it was meant for this place and not on its way out. And a clipboard showed they'd been to other stores as signed by some other ponies, but have big DENIED stamps over each one. This place was the only one with big green check marks."

"You know, I like to hunt for treasure, and that tells me the government had special plans for this brew that stores began to see through but bombs fell just in time." I smiled at her and took the bottle. "Besides, I've only taken a couple. I don't plan to chug em and die, I'll sip and savor and see if I get sick."

"You do you."

"I've survived this long." I laughed, lightening my own mood. I liked this mare. Too bad I'd never know her name because I didn't think I'd ever see her again, deciding then and there that I probably wouldn't.

Capper and I left, and I thought to myself, _I don't regret anything._

But just like with the Incident of Stable 14, I was lying to myself.

 _(Footnote: That battle for the factory was intense! But hey, at least Blitz gained some good rep with the Minute Hooves. He's a good pony at heart and Capper can see that. But there are some relationship qualms that are going to need to be addressed, especially with the implication that they're gonna meet OJ soon. Looks like Blitz is starting to be more open about wartime chems now, we'll see more of that in the future, in a really interesting way. Okay, can't wait to get Chapter 15 done! Let's keep on reading x3)_

 **Brohoof! /)**


	15. Chapter 15 Love That Lasts Pt 1 A New--

**Chapter 15** Love That Lasts

 **Part 1** A New Mission

Sanctuary was alive with the hustle and bustle of trade and agriculture. I hadn't seen so a place so lively since my days in Bittsberg! It was an exciting prospect, to say the least. The first pony to greet us was Press Peirce.

"Hey! You fellas made it! Cheers." he wore a big smile and reached out to shake my hoof, then Capper's.

The warm welcome was unusual in my opinion but Capper was all too pleased, "Nice to make your acquaintance," he winked. "My coltfriend and I are here to lend any assistance necessary."

"Capper," I hissed then smiled, embarrassed, when Press caught my eye, "happy to help!" I chuckled nervously.

"Well, I'd love to explain the situation, but first, Mama Madmare told me she was expecting you." Press pointed a hoof in the direction of a quaint little house where I recognized the hot-pink mare immediately. The old mare was knitting from a basket of yarn. What she was making was unclear, but she smiled and waved when she noticed we were looking. She readjusted her beanie and went back to work.

"We'll skedaddle on over then," Capper laughed, making legs with two of his paw pads. Why was he in such a high mood?

 **OOO**

Capper Dapperpaws

"My name is Capper Dapperpaws," I introduced myself to the old mare, gingerly taking her hoof and kissing it.

"Oh!" she giggled. "I've been expecting you." she was staring at my kitty-cat paws as I drew away and I gave her a flashy smile, baring my sharp teeth. They must be glinting in the sun, I kept good care of them. "And who might your friend be?" she asked.

"Oh, you already know me," Blitz stammered.

"No, no. I'm talking about your other friend." she frowned and waved dismissively at my coltfriend.

"Wait, you can see me?" Cheshire asked her.

"Of course I can see you dear! They don't call it the Sight for nothin'!" she guffawed and set down her needles.

"Well, in that case, we must all be mad here!" my hysterical companion swirled around me and went to shake Mama's hoof, or rather he grasped both hooves and she shook back.

Laughing out loud, she smiled at the three of us, "You look confused dear," she lowered her spectacles at Blitz.

"Well of course I am, how can you possibly see a figment of—*ahem*—a program in Capper's imagination?" Blitz was on the verge of losing his breath.

Mama shook her head, "I can't." was her simply put statement.

"I like her," I said behind a paw at Blitzfire.

"Me too!" Cheshire was jumping up and down in glee. It almost appeared as though his lavender and purple stripes were swirling in on themselves, moving much the same way a deer pony's cutie mark would. "The prospect of being seen is curiouser and curiouser."

"Six curious things before breakfast, my dear," said Mama.

"How are you even able to hear him, let alone see him?" Blitz asked.

Mama sighed, "If only you could ride the Sight the way I do. Speaking of which, I know you have chems on you, I can smell it. Are you willing to share so I can tell you of your friends?" she was staring at Blitz with a sort of longing look. I wasn't sure it was healthy for her, but it was the wild wasteland, you do you.

"We sure do," I nodded at Blitz, curious to see where this was going.

Blitz creased his brows, "Are you sure it's a good idea?"

"Trip a little," I laughed and Blitz retrieved the chem satchel from his inventory.

Ravager Blitzfire

"Ah, the Sight!" Mama was sighing in euphoria. "It tells me…Press sent your friends ahead, to the Castle!" she breathed, "They were looking for you, dear…but I see in your future conflict."

"Conflict? With who?" I was anxious, tapping all four of my hooves nervously against the wood porch.

"Not with who you may think. A secret agenda, hard to distinguish. I see a newsmare in your future."

"Piper, it must be her," Capper nodded.

"ORANGE JUICE," she gasped loudly then her eyelids fluttered and she exhaled before locking eyes with me. "That's all I can remember little Ravager."

"If that's all then that's fine." I shook my head, still not feeling satisfied.

"You know, you could always see what I see. You're not a demented old unicorn, but with those types of chems, well…"

"Where would I get more?" I asked her.

"You would need to return to Everfree, and I think you'd need to do it with your friends alongside you." her voice was raven-like and she sounded tired.

"I think we should let you rest for now," Capper patted me on the shoulder to indicate we might wanna leave.

"Maybe, maybe," she nodded, eyelids beginning to droop. "Talk to Press. He knows more than I do!" then she was snoring.

* * *

Press was at a workbench when we finally found his house. It looked like it had been converted into a community center. The leader of the Minute Hooves turned from his project and went inside the house but when I moved to go after him I heard somepony calling my name.

"Ravager? Ravager Blitzfire, is that you?" the voice was so familiar!

 **OOO**

Nexus Spark

 _Pre-War: 2 Years Before The Megaspells_

"Ravager! Ravager Blitzfire, are you listening?!" the internment advisor was stomping both front hooves to get my friend's attention. I saw Blitz snap to.

"Wha-what?" Blitz was blinking rapidly, I could tell he'd been about to fall asleep.

For the past hour, we'd been talking to a turquoise mare named Melody Salazar-Rodrigo. She liked to be called Mimi. "I hope you're paying attention. I know it's boring but if you want to be an Overseer and Nexus wants to be your Head of Maintenance then I need full attention." her voice sounded sweet and sincere. She would be assigned to Stable 14 whenever we finally got done with training. Who knew how long that would take.

I was taking notes via an orb memory recording device. It was a nifty little invention and I wished I could take the credit for creating it, but unfortunately, I could not. "Yeah, Blitzy," I chuckled, shoving him playfully. Faust if my heart didn't stop racing every time I looked at that colt…

"I'm sorry," Blitz sat up straighter and shuffled his notes. He hadn't taken many, thank goodness I was recording this session.

"Now, where were we…" Mimi began again…

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

I blinked at her, not quite believing my eyes. "Mimi?"

"Oh, Faust I knew that was you!" she lifted a high hoof in an embrace and I braced myself for the contact. She was a hugger, I remembered that much about her. I knew she was supposed to have been in Stable 14 but I had never seen her enter so I had no idea what happened to her. She looked a bit different…a bit ghoulish. I grimaced as she pulled away.

"Oh, I'm sorry, was that too much?" asked the timid mare. I looked her up and down, seeing her wrinkled pencil cutie mark and her mutated features and frazzled mane, or lack thereof.

"I think the question is more, 'what happened to you,' rather than 'don't hug my coltfriend,'" Capper laughed and held out a paw to her. She took it and shook.

"Oh, I see," she looked down at herself. "I'm a bit ugly now aren't I?"

"I wouldn't say that," I said while at the same time Capper said, "Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"I never made it to Stable 14. Instead, the radiation mutated me just enough to keep me alive but didn't affect my brain. Thank all the alicorns and Faust for that." she smiled, wrinkling her sparkly green eyes.

"Well better a ghoul than frozen in Stable 14." I skiffed my hoof through the dust on the concrete porch.

"Frozen?!" she gasped in shock, her voice rising a few octaves. "What do you mean? You wouldn't…?" she looked momentarily terrified of me.

"NO!" I bellowed, "Oh Faust, no! I had no idea until it was too late. It seemed to be some form of a control experiment. Nexus and I were the only two who survived."

"That's terrible! I'm so sorry," she stepped forward then back again, shying away but understanding lit her expression. "Speaking of Nexy, where is the poor guy?"

"Um…" I glanced down at my hooves, picking at some grime on my horseshoes.

"That's a bit of a touchy subject," Capper interjected, rubbing my back.

Mimi's mouth formed an O, "I didn't mean to pry."

"Hey!" a louder voice cut in, Press emerging from the community home. "I see you met Mimi."

"Actually, we already knew each other," I made eye contact with the chocolate brown stallion.

"Oh! That's always nice then!" he smiled brightly, "Mimi, weren't you heading out to meet with Terra?"

"Oh, yes, of course, the trader outpost. I can't believe I forgot!" Mimi moved off quickly, "It was nice seeing you; hope it isn't the last!" she waved as she ran away.

"So, the Castle. Mama told us to ask you about it." I turned my full attention to Press.

He chuckled, "Straight to business then."

"Usually how it is with us scavenger folk," said Capper.

"And what race are you exactly, I don't think I've ever met a walking talking cat before," said Press.

"I'm a Cait Sith," Capper announced, something not even I had ever heard from him before.

"Cait Sith?" I rose a brow.

"Well, ponies like to translate it to catlord, but yes, Cait Sith." Capper nodded with a cheeky grin.

"Very nice to meet you!" Press was pleased. "Now, about the Castle. Some friends of yours already went on ahead, so if you'd follow me over to the Sanctuary Garden Center, I have a war room in there." he pointed over to a huge greenhouse in the center of town. It looked makeshift and alien in this little residential area.

"Oh, that's sweet," Capper said smoothly.

We went in, seeing a few ponies tending the plants, but at the very back was a huge table with a map of Broncston spread out on it. Residing over it were two ponies, one of whom I recognized as Surge. "Look who it is!" he smiled big when he saw me. "And a catlord, thought your kind went extinct, but nice to be proven wrong." he smiled as he reached for Capper's paw. They shook.

"So you've met one of us," Capper laughed.

"Oh, I've worked with plenty of folk out in the wastes, I'm one of the Minute Scouts." nodded Surge enthusiastically. "I was actually told to expect Blitz here," he nodded to me, "and wait to take you to the Castle."

"So what is this Castle I keep hearing about?" I asked, peering over the map and seeing a big pink circle drawn around what I remembered as Griffonstone Castle. "Is that even in Broncston."

"Not officially no," Press informed me. "But it was commissioned as a command outpost prewar, which made it unofficially a part of Southeast Broncston."

"Which is why it's so urgent we go and meet Colonel Raven Shaw as soon as possible," Surge proclaimed with a raised hoof. He then adjusted his sunglasses.

With a tilt of his aussie slouch, "Yep, absolutely right," Press said in agreement.

I tapped a hoof subconsciously against the tabletop, "I'm gonna need to ask about the ponies you sent ahead first." my eyes would not make eye contact…

"You mean OJ and his crew?" asked Surge, frowning at me.

"That's where you're gonna have to elaborate," Capper gave him a one-hand finger gun then bit his lip when he saw me looking.

Press spoke up, "There were quite a bit of ponies in their group. It was a whole battalion."

"Hey, I don't complain about anypony offering their assistance." Surge laughed. "We need all the help we can get."

I perked up, staring Press down, and he shrank away a little. "Do you remember anypony's name?" I asked him with gritted teeth.

"I only remember the Guardian's name was Buck and the Colonel's name was Ashe Erza," answered Press, slowly straightening with a reassuring smile.

My heart was racing, and my thoughts were jumping all over the place, "Was there an orange pony with them?"

"Not that I can recall…" Press began to say.

A shout from an old mare came from the other end of the greenhouse. "Of course there was an orange pony, his name was Orange Juice for Faust's sake." she was making her way gradually toward us with a walker, her beanie crooked on her head. She pushed up her glasses and stopped when she reached us.

"Mama, what are you doing in here? You should be taking your midday nap right about now!" Surge gasped in shock.

She stuck her tongue out at him, "Oh phewy. In my day I was just as up and adam as any other pony."

"Orange Juice was in their party?" my eyes were practically bulging at her.

She nodded, "I had another vision. I must ask you to keep with you your Malice drug."

"Malice drug?" asked Capper, scratching his blue hair.

I glanced between the two of them, "you mean the unrefined raider drug I picked up?"

Mama nodded enthusiastically, "Precisely! If you refine it with ingredients from an old abandoned lab in Everfree then you can create something called Sympathy, but you'll need help from Orange Juice."

"Now hold on, Mama," Press reached a hoof toward her, "I don't think you should be asking everypony you meet for more drugs." he had a concerned look on his face but when I looked toward Surge he just shrugged it off.

"It's fine with me…" I told Press.

He shook his head, "She has an addiction you'll just be feeding into."

"Now wait just a minute, the info she's given us seems to be of use, 'specially if she remembered that colt's name where you couldn't," Capper was stroking his chin.

Press sighed exasperatedly, "I can't control anypony!"

"Back to the matter at hoof," said Surge.

"Right!" I shouted a little prematurely, "Capper, we need to get to the Castle as soon as possible."

"That would be excellent," Press agreed.

Just then the radio behind Surge burst into a jumble of static and shouted words: " _zz-_ I don't know if anypony _zz_ getting this _zz_ Sanctuary, but _zz_ is urgent! We _zz_ under seige _zz_ Griffon _zz_ Station _zz._ Outpost and the Castle _zz_ not respon _zz_. Request _zz_ backup! I repeat, _zz!_ Over- _zz!_ "

"That sounds serious," Press jumped to attention and Surge was already trying to hail them again.

My heart skipped a beat and I started tapping my four hooves from, swaying from side to side. "Is Orange Juice with that unit," I asked them.

I saw Mama nodding but Press said, "I have no idea." I decided to take Mama's word for it.

"Capper, we need to leave right now!" my nerves were acting up.

"You got it hotshot," he nodded and kept a neutral expression, seeing how serious my state of mind really was.

With that, we wrapped up the debriefing. I rushed out the door, Orange Juice on my mind and my nerves…

 **OOO**

Orange Juice

 _Present Time—20 minutes ago…_

I blinked my eyes, waking up beside the pony I knew and loved. I felt safe, I felt comfortable and most of all, I felt loved. I rolled over, facing him.

Wonder blinked his apple red eyes, slowly waking up as I did. "Good morning OJ," he smiled sleepily.

I pecked him on the lips, "I don't think it's morning, at least not from what I see on my EFS."

"Your Eyes Forward Sparkle?" Wonder yawned, looking as groggy as he sounded. It made me giggle and I booped my nose against his.

"Boop!" I said out loud with my laughter.

"Boop right back at ya, Cutie." Wonder kissed me and my heart felt all warm and tingly.

This colt had taught me a lot about love in the course of the last year, and for knowing him I was grateful. It was awesome to have him by my side, helping me learn exactly what my cutie mark meant. Last year I had received my cutie mark, just as everypony in the Fort had told me we would. It had made me so happy, and I'd been the happiest I'd ever been since Stable 28 in this last year alone. Wonder made me happy, and so did all my friends. They were a good influence on me, and I knew I was a good influence on them. Last year the Guardian had been a grumpy old stallion, this year he seemed a lot nicer.

Speaking of the Guardian, I could hear him talking outside our tent with a pony named Ashe Erza. We were in the command center at Griffonstone Station. We had recently met with some ponies called Minute Hooves Scout and Patrol, or MHSP, and we were at their command outpost discussing strategy with them. There was a radio tower and we were in contact with a place called Sanctuary. That was all I knew, I wasn't all too good at strategy so I didn't bother myself with the small details. That's what Erza, Buck, and Cherry were for. Lily and Pumpkin were here too, in a different mare's tent and sitting up I could see that Cherry had already gotten up way before Wonder and I had. Combat was still asleep in his own bed.

"If you think I'm asleep, you're gravely mistaken. Keep staring at me and I'll chop your shiny bits off." Combat grumbled.

"Well, we don't want that now do we," Wonder was sitting up.

Combat was referring to, of course, a time in our past when he was a raider who wanted to take my thingy from me. I grimaced at the memory but I knew he was only joking with me now as a friend. Combat hated Circle of Ash as much as we did. Speaking of, it was the whole reason we were here.

The tents weren't very soundproof and I could just hear bits and pieces of conversation from outside the tent. Cherry was talking, "...Not if we don't get back-up soon guys."

"Precisely!" was Lady Ashe's booming voice. Wonder and I smiled at each other, thinking the same thing. We were both young colts, about the same age. He was shorter than me though so he was usually little spoon. "We must contact Sanctuary and ask for the status of additional troops!"

"Meanwhile, how do we defend this position from the Lurks the Queen keeps sending at us?" Buck was grumbling.

"I don't know! I can get us on the radio at about 2:30pm, but that's about it," said a small female voice, a pony named Private Flower.

"I'll head the defense until then! Along with my colt…" came a slightly high pitched male voice, louder than the last. His name was Captain Ace.

"Calm down Cardkeeper," said another and final pony named Major Brighton.

The ponies we were getting help from at this outpost were named as mentioned: Skye Flower, a sky blue pegasus pony, mutated from years and years of radiation and looked like a ghoul, with light blue eyes and poofy turquoise mane and tail which were artificial; Shadow Brighton, a black colored unicorn who had woken up in a vault far from here and joined the Minute Hooves; and Ace of Hearts, or as he was better known as by his callsign, Cardkeeper, who had always been with the Minute Hooves since as far as he could remember. He was a white and blue striped pony with caramel-colored eyes. They were all differently ranked in their MHSP unit, headed by Shadow. At this point, we were on a first-name basis with all of them as we had been here for a little over a week.

Card and Shadow also had an adopted son named Dime Brighton who was too young to be in any combat situations but old enough to be present at the camp. Dime was an aubergine colored pony with golden eyes and colorful gold stripes all over his dark body. I really liked Dime, as even though he was younger than I, I was still at a similar mental age to him. I loved to play make-believe with him every day while the grown-ups made their battle plans. Wonder sometimes participated. Even though his mental age was the same as his physical age, he loved my naive and quirky nature. That's what made him the best coltfriend ever!

"OJ! OJ! Your mind is wandering again. What's got you so distracted?" Wonder was already up out of bed and he had on his flat cap. He had already retrieved his arcana bangle anklets and was now working on pulling on his combat boots. I blinked and glanced down at my own hooves, noticing I had messed up the bed covers as I had been pacing and rolling around in the bed while thinking.

"I guess my attention fell away from me again!" I giggled at my coltfriend. "Pass me my Puppydog tags?"

"Sure thing, Cutie." Wonderbolt opened a footlocker and grabbed the dog tags labeling me as the Guardian's Puppydog with Bittsberg Fort credentials. Here at this outpost, it was as though two allying nations had met up with their militaries to defeat a common enemy. However, our current enemy was not common, we were only helping them out in order to ask them to help us out. A favor for a favor as the Guardian had put it. He was such a great teacher!

I caught my tags and slipped the chain around my neck. My mane was no problem now, as Pumpkin Spice was here and she was making sure I kept up on my appearance. She was like a minister of image for the Fort, as Cheif Manedresser and only Mane Stylist on board. Lily was here as well, supervising Wonder as his boss, him being a field medic and her being Head of Medicine at the Fort. Cherry was here acting as active quartermaster, as his job title at the Fort was Cheif Quartermaster. Buck was, well, obviously my Guardian! Combat Zone was a Lieutenant at the Fort now, having helped us in a huge crisis last year dealing with Stable 28 and defeating the Overmare. Everything in Bittsberg was stable and secure again, just as Stable Tech had once promised everypony. Ashe Erza was here as a supervisor for the Guardian, being the best Colonel the Fort ever had.

"Hey OJ," Wonder called as I slipped the tags over my neck. "You wanna go see what Dime is up to?" he was by the flap of the tent.

"Sure, but first I wanna see what the Guardian is doing!" I called back and he left.

Outside Dime was running around playing with a small dog. The Minute Hooves always worked to preserve the way of life from Pre-War and they always rescued strays. I liked that! It was difficult for me to ignore the puppy as I made my way over to the Guardian. He was busily having a whispered converstion with Erza. Pumpkin Spice was bouncing past Dime and she waved at me. I grinned toothily and waved back.

"Hey Guardian!" a bounced in between the two and gave him a huge smile.

"OJ, I'm sorry, but I'm talking with the Colonel right now." he frowned down at me. He was wearing his customary purple lightweight power armor but his helmet was not present.

"Oh, he is quite alright," said Erza. "I find his presence amusing. In a good way," she added when I looked over my shoulder at her and stuck out my tongue. She stuck her tongue out at me in return. It made me laugh.

"I'm gonna go play with Dime." I said as I trotted off to join Shadow's son.

The puppy had returned to the tent and Wonder was looking after him. I went to Dime and said a very enthusiastic, "Hi!"

"Hi OJ!" Dime was laughing. "Pumpkin Spice is so funny!"

"Where's Pumpkin—" Pumpkin bounced up and interrupted me,

"Hi Orange Juice! I cannot get over your name, like ever!" she was making silly faces at me and I was not able to control my roaring laughter.

"I know," I told her.

"Your laugh is funny," said Dime to me.

At that moment a shreiking sound picked up and I looked toward the road. I recognized it as a Mire Lurk, but it was a nasty creature known as a Lurker in the Broncston Wastes. My eyes widened when I saw how close they were to us and I saw from the corner of my eye Pumpkin Spice dive to grab Dime and roll into the closest tent.

I spun around, basically jumping on my four hooves, and yelled to the Colonel, "Lady Ashe! Lurks!"

Everypony jumped into action at once. I hadn't been to the armory tent yet today so I needed to run to the war tent as quick as my little hooves could take me before I could find myself a weapon. I'm sure there was a locker in there with available weapons, hopefully a 9 or 10mm. Skye was inside and she was busily digging through a footlocker. Shadow was already cocking a shotgun and darting outside.

"Toss me a weapon Skye Flower!" I cried and she instantly threw a gun at me. I caught the 10mm, _Yes!_ in my turquoise magical aura, letting it float in front of me. I had had a lot of practice with levitation in the past year. I was a unicorn, and before I met Buck and friends, I was very bad at magic. But I had been recieving constant help from everypony. I think I heard Lily say once that my growth and mental capacity had been stunted due to the horrible treatment I had recieved in Stable 28. I didn't know what any of it meant, but I trusted her. She was my doctor.

"No time to dilly dally now," said Skye Flower, out of breath. She was rushing out the door. I broke up my thoughts and went to follow her.

Outside was a mess with firefighting. Cardkeeper was on the radio nearby and I heard him shouting into the reciever, " _zz-_ I don't know if anypony is getting this over in Sanctuary, but this is urgent! We are under seige at Griffonstone Station Command Outpost and the Castle is not responding. Request imediate backup! I repeat, imediate backup! Over- _zz!_ " he then dropped the reciever and spun to join the action with his own semi-auto rifle. "Yaaaaah!" he was yelling as he ran toward his coltfriend.

I hoisted my pistol in my magical grip and joined the fray…

 _(Footnote: So here's the thing, I'm finally getting back into this story and honestly, I'm super excited to be reintroducing OJ. This is the first chapter I wrote this month and not last year, so my writing style may or may not have changed. If it did change I hope it's for the better. Feel free to leave reviews, I can't wait to see how everyone is enjoying this story! So, OJ and crew huh? I'm reintroducing a lot of characters. In total by the end of Chapter 15 there'll be about 10-11 main characters, a total of 8-9 new characters added. Just be paying attention ^^ Tell me what you think of Shadow Brighten and crew. I borrowed from another universe but changed things up a bit. I can't wait to get into the Castle battles and introduce the main plot of the story now. Stay tuned for Part 2 as I'm posting both parts TODAY! Love you guys and thanks for being loyal...)_

 **Brohoof! /)**


	16. Chapter 15 Part 2 Dangerous Reunions

**Part 2** Dangerous Reunions

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time…_

The train was just pulling into Griffonstone Station when we heard the sounds of warfare. Bullets were being sprayed in the distance and a strange shrieking yell could be heard. I assumed the yells were coming from the enemy, but there was no enemy I'd ever heard that sounded like that.

"I didn't even know the trains still ran in the Broncston Wastes," I told to Capper as I hopped off.

He grabbed a rail's edge and swung around it before jumping to land beside me, saying, "It was smooth ridin' all the way through though, amiright?"

"I don't know, but I think we better go see what's up," I nodded to my tomfriend.

We rushed to the sound of gunfire, coming over a crest on the road to overlook a small military outpost consisting of 5 large green tents, a radio tower with station and a Minute Hoof flag, similar to the one at Sanctuary but bearing a different crest to represent Minute Hooves Scout and Patrol. This was the command outpost that was under attack by very strange looking Mire Lurks.

"Whoo boy, I've seen these little fellas before. They're nasty, and best to stay clear if you can avoid it." Capper was twirling one paw pad through the air to make his point as he pointed and counted out the remaining enemies. My EFS counted 3 alive and I saw a bunch more bodies everywhere else.

Raising my revolver, I shot at one and took it down in almost the blink of an eye. I took good care of this weapon. "What are they?" I inquired.

"To put it simply, a nasty mutated specimen of the Mire family. They're spawned from a Behemoth version of the Lurk, called Lurker Queen. If there's one close to here, I recommend seeking medical help asap." Capper snickered at me. I loved his laid back sense of humor.

He fired up his orb powers and for a second I thought I saw a smiling purple kitty face but it was gone the moment he tossed his blue styled magic at another Lurker. It splashed on it but didn't appear to do much damage. I had stocked up on apple grenades before leaving so I plucked one from my belt, "How about we give this a try."

Capper lifted a paw, "Careful not to—" it was too late, as I had already plucked the stem and tossed one at the nearest enemy. "—hit any friendlies there…" he slowly lowered his paw, but I had been paying attention. If OJ was here I was going to make damn sure he stayed alive in this battle.

Using my EFS, I located and identified friendly bogies. There was Orange Juice and my heart almost stopped. He hadn't seen us yet, but I had seen him. I looked over to Capper, who was now using orange exploding orbs and I knew for a fact I could see Cheshire every time he did. Capper didn't seem to notice my distress at seeing OJ.

Finally, the battle abruptly ended. By the time we had shown up there hadn't been many Lurkers left anyway and I felt relieved we could push it out of the way. I knew adrenaline and tensions would still be high, but at least Capper and I could finally reveal our position. I lifted my hoof and accessed my modified version of the Pip-Buck I'd received from the Power Armor all those moons ago; tuning into the Minute Free Radio and connecting to the Command Outpost.

"Come in Griffonstone Station, come in Griffonstone." I started. "This is Ravager Blitzfire and Capper Dapperpaws, sent from Sanctuary. Your request for backup was read loud and clear. We're on our way down." I buzzed out and I saw ponies down the hill noticing us up here at the station platform.

"We read you loud and clear Blitzfire and Dapperpaws," came a high pitched male voice. "You are safe to venture on down here." there was a slight laugh as the radio cut out again.

"Please do remind me to update him on my name. I so prefer Capper," he slid his paw through the air as he said 'so.' He had kind of a sly look on his face. Now that his aura had died down, I could no longer see Cheshire. That had been strange to say the least. I wondered what Cheshire whispered to my tomfriend when I couldn't see or hear.

"BLITZY!" came a loud immediately recognizable voice as we approached the camp. OJ was jumping up and down, anxiously anticipating our arrival now that he'd been made aware. He made to jump toward me, possibly to give me a hug, but the Guardian— _Oh, the Guardian,_ I was internally rolling my eyes, _no way I wouldn't recognize that blue earth pony son of a bitch anywhere!_ —stopped OJ from proceeding with an extended foreleg. "Blitzy, Blitzy, Blitzy!" OJ could not stop bouncing.

There was a younger kid, about 8 or so years old, peering out from behind a black colored pony with a long horn and dark purple eyes. Beside that pony was a blue and white striped guy, earth pony; and a light blue pegasus ghoul. She must've been wearing a wig because there was no way her actual hair looked that good; it was short and poofy, kinda like Pumpkin Spices but not as long. Then there was the crew, and Press wasn't kidding when he said battalion.

I recognized a few members of their party, there was the earth brown stallion named Cherry Blossom, the white mare named Lily Bloom, I definitely remembered Pumpkin Spice and the Guardian; or rather Buck, then there was the Colonel, whom I wasn't sure I remembered or not. I saw another, gray, pony emerge from a tent and to me he was labeled as raider red on my EFS, my eyes widened for a split second and I raised my weapon before a cream-colored pony with wine red hair jumped forward and spoke up, "Wait, wait! He's with us, that's Combat Zone!" I lowered my weapon and trained my eyes on OJ, biting my lip.

"Isn't he a raider?" I asked the group but could not stop staring at Orange Juice. Those perfect orange curves, his beautifully styled turquoise mane; courtesy of Pumpkin Spice. And who could forget his silly yet lovable mismatched eyes; left turquoise to match his mane and the right orange, matching his fur.

The same pony spoke up and I turned my attention to his apple colored eyes, "He was, yeah, but not any more so you don't gotta worry one bit!" he looked to be around the same age as OJ, though a bit shorter, and as I sized him up I noticed he was wearing a flat cap, combat boots and spiked anklets on his two forehooves. He also appeared to be protecting Orange Juice, which made no sense.

"Who are you?" I narrowed my eyes, speaking slowly.

"Chess says that's a good question," Capper whispered to me so only I could hear.

Orange spoke up almost at once, "He's my Wonderbolt!" he was smiling a big smile.

Wonder "bolt" continued, "Well, my full name is Wonderful but you can call me Wonder if you want. I like to wander and wonder." he winked.

"It's pretty wonderful," said Pumpkin Spice in her shrill tones.

"What she said." Wonder laughed then put one hoof around OJ's shoulders and nuzzled him. I felt my pulse quicken but decided to shrug it off.

"What are you all doing here? This isn't Bittsberg." I stated.

Guardian removed his helmet, "It sure isn't, and I have to say it's actually pretty nice to see you, Blitz, considering…" he was avoiding eye contact now.

"Nice…?" I bit my lip again.

Capper noticed my discomfort and rubbed my shoulders. I saw OJ notice that. "You two got history or something?" he asked us.

"You could say that," said Buck and I said, "Or something," at the same time.

"He's _soo_ over it!" her head did that weird twisty thing before going back to its normal resting place, "Right ol' Buck?" she giggled.

"I hate when you call me that and yes, that's right. Besides we have more pressing matters."

Cherry was just walking up, a helmet in hoof, "Well get used to it old stallion, kuz it ain't changin'." he said gruffly.

The Colonel was close behind Cherry, her white fur glistening in the sunlight and her long red mane flowing elegantly behind her and curling over one shoulder to rest on her chest. Her cutie mark was blazoned proud on her flank and it was especially noticeable in the way she carried herself. Some sort of coat of arms with many branches and curving arrows coming out of the circular center. "The Guardian is right of course! We do have more pressing issues at hoof. As you can see we just one a very hard fought battle but the war is not over!"

"What do you need help with?" I asked the pair.

"It really depends who you ask," Buck scuffed a gauntleted hoof through the dirt.

"That it does!" the shadow colored pony who looked rather important and dignified stood to full attention and saluted, "Major Shadow Brighton, Minute Hoof Patrol #187, reporting, and if Press sent you then you must be just as important as this small battalion here." his voice was low and cool. It sent chills down my spine.

"He really is!" OJ was nodding frantically.

The white and blue striped pony was returning from speaking on the radio and went over and brushed the 8 year old on his head, scuffing up his mane. "Daddy!" said the kid in protest, "You're embarrassing me in front of the new pony. Uh-er-um, and the kitty cat guy."

"Kitty-cat guy, I love it! I'm a catlord kiddo!" Capper burst into hysterics. "And dontcha forget it."

"I won't sir!" he saluted.

Shadow continued introductions, "Meet Dime, my son, and Cardkeeper," Card saluted, "My coltfriend and captain on this unit."

Cardkeeper jumped to full attention so fast it wasn't even funny, "Nice to meetcha! Captain almost Lieutenant Ace of Hearts at your full service and attention. Oh and um, Minute Hoof Scout and communications officer #186." he dropped his salute but remained at attention, chest puffed out further than it should be.

"And, um, I, um, I'm Private Flower. Skye, um, Flower…" said a quiet mare's voice, the sky blue pegasus was talking but it was hard to hear.

"Speak up, no need ta be shy now!" Capper encouraged her.

She stood to full attention then, "I'm Private Flower, sir! Minute Hoof Patrol #185, sir!" she saluted and did not drop it.

"Alright now, alright! No need for all that now," Capper waved her down.

"At ease, I guess," I told them. Everypony at attention dropped to their relaxed states. "We're not ranking officers so the formalities weren't really necessary."

"Formalities are always necessary," said Shadow.

Card smiled and spoke up energetically, his whole body vibrating, "And technically you are, I just got off the radio with Sanctuary. Press gave you two the clearance level of Majors." Card gave a cute little salute again.

"Now that we've got introductions out of the way, I'd like to take everypony, nonessential excluded, into the wartent for debriefing." Shadow waved us on. We all followed but I watched OJ, Dime and Pumpkin stay behind to play with a puppy outside. Combat went back to the male shelter tent grumbling about being woken from a nap. Everyone heading into the war-room included myself, Capper, Buck, Ashe Erza and Shadow. Everypony else had other things to do on base. Cherry and Sky were busily reorganizing munitions in the back of the tent but they weren't part of the conversation at the table.

"So can I ask again, what are you guys doing all the way out here?" I was staring down the Guardian, "and who in tartarus is that…that colt with OJ?"

"Don't fret over it!" Capper patted me on the back and my heart jumped. I couldn't believe I forgot about Capper!

"Not to worry, that's just his coltfriend, they've been together almost a year now," Erza said it like it was nothing, and to her it probably was. But to me, it was starting to feel like everything.

"You guys let some young prick enter OJ's personal life like that?" why was I feeling so Faust-damn protective over the little colt? He had been taking care of himself for a whole year now!

"He's not just some prick…" Guardian said slowly. He whispered something I most definitely heard to Erza, "I'm starting to remember why I don't like him."

"Fine, whatever," I spat, "just please somepony tell me why you're all here in the Broncston Wastes."

"For one, they're here to help us reclaim the Castle. Which I gathered was why you're here too?" Shadow was trying to regain control of the conversation.

He failed. "Circle of Ash reemerged," Buck said grimly.

"WHAT?" My ears perked up and I was at full attention. I felt a cold sweat build on my forehead.

"Who's this Circle of Ash fella?" asked Capper.

"We don't fully know," came the response from Ashe. "We believe he is some ancient entity, or at least far older than any of us, but we don't know."

"All we know," sighed Buck, "is that somepony entered Bittsberg borders and for the first time in about 2 months the peace was disrupted. We nearly lost another battle to Circle, whom we thought was dead, and now we're dealing with ashlings sprouting up everywhere. Trade is going to halt unless the Minute Hooves agree to send more troops our way."

"Which we will if you guys would just—" Shadow started again.

I held up a hoof to shut him up and he gave me a pissed off look. "That doesn't fully explain why you guys are here."

"We believe whoever reawakened Circle came and went from Bittsberg quite recently," Erza announced. "Specifically two ponies of whom we did not recognize at one of our trading posts in the city. We got reports of suspicious activity but nothing was confirmed or denied by anypony."

"Largely because their actions didn't warrant suspicion," groaned Buck.

"I think any stranger's actions warrant suspicion! I am Colonel and Cheif of Security for a reason!" Erza was exasperated. It sounded like this wasn't the first time they'd had this argument.

"Yes, yes, and if you guys help us reclaim the Castle you'll get plenty of troops to help you take down the ashlings," Shadow interjected. He was seething.

I rolled my eyes, "But _why_ have you come _here?_ " I snapped.

"Oh! That one is easy." Buck shook his head then gave a calm smile, "the two ponies left the way they came, through the East Gate City outpost into Bittsberg. They returned to Broncston, so they must be from Broncston. We intend to follow up on the Colonel's suspicions to _hopefully,_ " he shot her a look, "prove her wrong."

"Or to most certainly prove me right!" she proclaimed with one hoof pointedly in the air.

"Well, I can tell you right now that those two ponies are from Broncston and one's the mayor of Double Diamond City," Capper stated. "He wouldn't do anypony any amount of harm." he was grinning.

"That's all well and good, but can we talk about the Castle, _now?!"_ Shadow slammed his hooves on the table. Everypony went completely silent. "I'm sorry, but the voices are too Faust-damn loud and if you ponies don't shut the buck up and let me talk I'm gonna blow a fuse."

"Everything okay in here?" Cardkeeper poked his head through the flap. "Babe?" he locked eyes with Shadow. "Your shades again?"

"Yes."

"Oh my, I am so very sorry," Erza said in a soothing tone.

I cocked my head, confused, "Shades?"

"I prefer not to talk about it," Shadow was quiet.

"It's a touchy topic," Card said and ducked out again.

Buck was opening a folder and spreading some maps out on the table, "Back to our pressing issues! At the moment we have no contact with the Castle. We need to get over there as soon as possible and speak with Colonel Raven Shaw to find out how best to defeat the Lurker Queen."

"As you all saw, the body count for her Lurker minions was quite high so her armies are vast," Erza informed us.

"Not too vast," said Skye from the back, speaking up for once. "I never saw a male, so I assume her resources for reproduction are limited."

"Resources," Capper stuck his tongue out, "what a way to label it!" that forced me to smile, as I tried not to laugh.

"I see you two are close," said Shadow, eyeing us with a slightly estranged look on his face.

"He's my coltfriend," said Capper and simultaneously I said, "He's my tomfriend." we both said "Jinx!" _Wow, are we really that in sync?_ I was staring at my tomfriend incredulously.

"At any matter, we need to proceed to the Castle," Shadow said. "I can only send one officer with you and we need soldiers here so I leave it up to you to decide who goes and who stays. I need Skye here to tend to a few things so I'll be deploying Card."

"I shall remain," said Erza, "this outpost is far too crucial."

Guardian heaved a huge sigh, "I imagine the Puppydog will want to accompany Blitz to the castle so it looks like the two of us are leaving with you. It's up to Combat and Pumpkin if they want to go because their status isn't technically active military. Cherry should stay here and help pone the station, as well as Lily but Wonder should go as a field medic."

"He's really quite hoofy with those bangles of his," Erza beamed.

"Any advantage we can get," I said, imagining she meant the spikes were good for hoof-to-hoof combat.

"I imagine Combat won't be coming if he's sleeping," I voiced my thoughts aloud.

"I'll be coming!" Pumpkin was right in my face, appearing out of nowhere. How she moved so fast was beyond me but it was perturbing. "Where OJ goes, I go!" she turned to the group, now on the other side of the table. Strange. "And who's your friend, kitty-catlord?" she asked Capper.

"It's starting to get weird how everypony can see him all of a sudden." Capper scratched his chin.

"Oh, I can't see him! But I _know_ where he is!" Pumpkin was excited. Capper for once was at a loss for words.

"I always feel the same way, don't worry," I reassured him quietly. "Though I could see him when your white aura flared up during battle earlier." I finished.

"Nothing is quiet around me!" Pumpkin bounced onto the table then off it and out the door. "I'm off to fetch OJ and Wonder!

* * *

Orange Juice

The seven of us trudged up the road, and I could see the Castle looming in the distance. It had been a long while since I'd traveled with Blitzy by my side, and I had to admit it seemed nice. Though he was a bit reserved around me and I didn't know why he tried to avoid me. Wonder tried to reassure me it was fine, but at the same time, he tried to keep me away from the tan vested, combat-ready treasure hunter. I liked treasure, why couldn't I like the hunter too?

I watched as he talked to the tall catlord figure, noticing the big pointy orangish brownish ears, the cat's fully green glowy eyes with slitted pupils, the way he always stood poised and his strong stride. That guy held himself with a lot more confidence than I did and I wished I had half as much. I puffed out my chest and walked with a march to my step, trying to mimic it. I headbutted my coltfriend's ass in the process.

"Whoa, watch it OJ! What are you up to back there?" Wonder turned his head to look at me. I cantered up to him, keeping pace now.

"I'm copycatting that guy."

"Copycat," snickered Pumpkin.

"He just looks soo cool!" I beamed.

"I bet he does. He's got a nice red trenchcoat, huh?" Wonder looked back at the guy.

"Why is he with Blitzy?" I whined, my voice tapering.

"Now now, no whining mister," Pumpkin shushed me.

Wonder slowed down, letting the three of us fall behind the group a little. "That's Blitzfire's new tomfriend."

"Tomfriend?" I cocked my head, having never heard that word.

"It's another word for coltfriend," Wonder explained.

Capper called back to us, "It's because I'm a cool-cat and not a pony. Tom means boy!"

"Ohhh…That doesn't really help me feel better." I was chewing my lip and going crosseyed.

"I would imagine it wouldn't, and don't stare at the sky like that, you'll hurt your eyes," said Wonder.

"Oh. Yeah!" I uncrossed my eyes and stopped thinking too hard about it. "You guys wanna play a game instead?"

"Actually, we're here!" Guardian called. The time for games was over…

 _(Footnote: So things are gonna be kinda tense at first, reintroducing OJ into Blitz's storyline. But not to worry, OJ is too lighthearted a character and the main main plot isn't coming up until after the Castle. This is gonna be a hardfought battle, but just you wait for what's to come! I hope you guys are also liking Shadow, Card and Sky Flower. I borrowed them from my original Apacolyptic Equestria book Shades and Tales but changed some things about them to fit this universe. Let me know what you think, feel free to leave a review!)_

 **Brohoof! /)**


	17. Chapter 16 What Do We Have To Lose?

**Chapter 16** What Do We Have To Lose?

Ravager Blitzfire

Affairs were not in order at the Castle when we arrived. Instead, we came to a small camp just outside its gates that appeared to be deserted. Everything here looked trashed and near the gate to the Castle Lurkers were visible freely coming in and out. It was time to pull our resources and assess the situation. We held back outside the little camp to steer clear of the little buggers while we talked. Out in the harbor over the cliff's edge, a large beast could be seen. It looked like a giant crab, just as the smaller Lurkers did and now I understood why this was labeled BEHEMOTH: LURKER QUEEN on my EFS.

"So this is a bigger problem than we thought guys," said the Guardian as we regrouped.

"I'll say!" Cardkeepr had a hard time keeping his voice down, "Colonel Shaw is trapped in there with a horde of those things! Plus we have no access to the heavy artillery until we get through the front gates."

"What's the heavy artillery?" I asked him.

"Oh, just some big ol' party canons," said Pumpkin. "They were stationed there by my great-great-however many greats-grandmare, Pinkie Pie, during the war. This used to be the Ministry of Image's first defense against oncoming Zebricka naval vessels."

"That is most certainly some heavy bucking artillery," Capper nodded his understanding, licking his lips and looking like he wanted to get his paws on those canons.

"Unfortunately, from what Colonel Shaw said, they're not in operation until they can be repaired and refilled with ammo, and it's all locked in the dungeons." Card said with a worried look.

"How do we get to the dungie-ons?" OJ asked.

"We don't. Not without Colonel Shaw's crystal key." Card stated forlornly.

Card put one finger in the air, "I say we go in there and rescue her, what do we have to lose?"

"I say we have a lot to lose, those Lurkers aren't some larval Mire Lurk, their tough game." Buck put a hoof down.

"Understandable, but Capper has a point," I jumped on defending my tomfriend. Of course, the Guardian was right, but given our tense history, I wasn't about to say that aloud.

"If you guys wanna go in there, be my guest," said Card.

Capper put a paw to his chin, lost in thought, "We'll need a guy to pone the canons, and I for one am all for it."

"So I'll clear a way for you," I told him at the same time letting the group know.

"That sounds like it's verging on a good idea," said the Guardian.

Pumpkin Spice was bouncing up and down in place and OJ was watching her, jumping in place too. I wish I had half as much energy as them. "We're at the brink!" Pumpkin shouted, "and I'm getting a _good_ feeling about this!" her voice was so loud and shrill that it drew the attention of some Lurkers.

"I for one think somepony needs to get to the dungeons," Wonder said. "I'll stay back and help everypony fight upstairs."

"I'll take OJ down to the dungeons," Buck said hastily, "Pumpkin, keep your voice down for Faust's sake, and stay up here and help Wonder, Capper and Blitz."

"Looks like it's now or never," said Capper, pointing at the two bogies coming our way.

"Sounds like a plan!" Pumpkin jumped into action and from seemingly out of nowhere had two pink pouches in her hooves. She tossed them both and one hit their own individual targets each. It appeared as though a bunch of Niponese candy exploded out. "I call those piñata grenades!" they appeared to be highly effective. The HP of the two Lurkers were significantly reduced. However, the sound caught the attention of more coming from the Castle.

"We gotta get in there!" the Guardian was already rushing forward, the Puppydog on his tail. I didn't like thinking of Orange Juice that way but there wasn't time to dwell as I raised a combat shotgun and aimed as close to the face of a Lurker as possible.

The disadvantage these guys had was their bigger size. Being spawned from a behemoth, everything about them was larger, including their ugly mugs. I was more easily able to shoot them in the face, taking them out faster. I hated Mire Lurks with a passion, but these guys could take a shell like I was throwing pillows at them. It took around 4 or 5 bullets per kill and that was only if I could manage to hit them in the face. A few times they got way too close and I had to bash them in with the butt of the shotgun. "Faust damn you!" I yelled as I smashed one.

"Take it easy there, baby." Capper's words were level as always. I did not understand how he could stay so calm in tense situations all the time. "Here, I'll give you a boost." his red magic surrounded me and I felt infinitely better. My heart rate did increase but not to the point of discomfort.

I looked over my shoulder to thank him and had to do a double-take. The Cheshire cat was fully visible and he was doing some invisible fighting of his own. He was actually affecting the enemies and now I understood where Capper's magic came from. It was almost as though Capper was controlling the cat and at the same time, the cat was controlling himself. He winked at me, "We're all mad here…" I heard the words in my head and saw the cat speak them at the same time from yards away. There was no way I could hear him. "Oh, but you can, can't you? Look out behind you!"

I spun to and narrowly avoided being slashed by a Lurker claw. It snapped the air just beside me as I came up and roundhouse kicked it in the chest. "Buck! That hurt." I breathed and ran toward Capper. There was a length of purple magic connecting him to Cheshire and every time he drew on his powers I saw Cheshire look more drained. Cheshire might be invisible but he was doing some of his own fighting and it was working against these brutes.

"What's up, Blitz?" asked Capper through gritted teeth.

"Stop using magic!" I huffed, almost out of breath.

Capper gave me a sidelong glance, "What for? I'm enjoying myself, baby!"

"No, you don't understand, you're killing Cheshire!" I looked back at the purple Cait Sith, catlord—whatever—and saw him fall to the ground. He was fully visible and I think I knew why. "Capper! That Lurker can see him!" he was attached to Capper's mental psyche through the purple magic and my physical body through the red magic. Cheshire was corporeal and I was taking full advantage without even realizing it!

"What?" Capper spun around in complete surprise and I had to block an attack from a nearby Lurk to protect him. "NO!" Capper shouted as he saw Cheshire just sitting there about to take the full brunt of an attack. Capper dove forward with all his strength, rolling and taking the hit for the cat. He went to a skidding halt face-first into a boulder and came to a stop. He did not get up.

" _Capper!"_ my voice was strained as I yelled at the top of my lungs. _Faust fucking no he isn't dead…_ Cheshire fell unconscious too and the Lurker turned on me.

* * *

Orange Juice

The courtyard of the Castle was eerily quiet. "I don't like the looks of this place," said Wonder in hushed tones.

"Do we need to be quiet?!" Pumpkin went bouncing to the center of the courtyard, staring up at the blue sky. Her voice echoed off the stonework all around.

I noticed a staircase leading up to a tower. "Look at how big it is!"

"That's called a turret," said Wonder winking at me. I wished I could give him a kiss but I was gonna have to stick with lifting my hoof to my lips and blowing him one instead. He didn't see…

"Now is not the time for fun or tomfoolery," said the Guardian. "We are in a very dangerous situation.

"I'll say," said Cardkeeper, moving over to the radio station. "I don't understand why this post is abandoned, nor do I get why the Lurkers have abandoned the courtyard."

"Shouldn't we take that as a good thing?" I looked around between everypony, gauging their reactions. Buck was frowning, Pumpkin was giddy as ever, Wonder had his head tilted, trying to find words. Cardkeeper was fiddling with the radio.

He slammed the receiver down, "It's completely busted!"

"No need to get angry now," Pumpkin raised a hoof in surrender then lowered it again.

"I'm not angry, I'm just really confused why we're apparently in the clear in here and not outside."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that!" Buck was backing away from the draw-gate slowly as Lurkers began to chase us in from the outside. "Someone get that gate up!"

"On it!" Pumpkin sped forward, heading for the staircase leading upward.

"Wonder, you stay here with Card. OJ, on me, now!" Guardian shouted orders. Everypony followed them at once.

Darting over to the Guardian I lifted my favorite weapon, a custom crossbow Cherry had helped me make back at the Fort a long time ago. I had painted it purple and named it Grape Juice. "Prepare to face my fury," I smiled and licked my lips. Loading an arrow I aimed at the face of one of the Lurkers. They looked like Mire Lurks, just much much bigger. All I had to do was hit its stupid ugly face!

I focused my EFS, activated S.A.T.S., or the Stable-Tech Assisted Targeting System. Such a simple name but it made such a huge difference. I told my Pip-Buck to target the face and my EFS responded. I pulled the trigger and released S.A.T.S. then watched in slow motion as the arrow flew towards the monster, my vision zoomed in by EFS. The arrow had a turquoise streak trailing behind it, enhanced by my magical aura by a mod on the bow. It plunged into the squishy face of the Lurker and a burst of turquoise magic exploded from the tip of the arrow. It was a one-hit kill, as the explosion caused pieces of its face to fall away.

At least, it should've been a one-hit kill. My EFS labeled it as a critical hit and lowered the HP, but the thing was still alive! "How in the…?" I tilted my head and lowered my bow, completely disoriented. I had exploded its _face!_

"OJ! Pay attention!" the Guardian yelled then shot at the Lurk coming toward me. "We need to keep moving!" he killed the Lurk and grabbed me by the collar of my combat armor, dragging me away from the action. "Run and follow me, we're heading to the dungeons. We have to find Colonel Shaw."

We ducked through a doorway to the inside of the Castle. There were now stone walls and roof all around, torches and lanterns lighting the way down. We found a staircase in a tower that led both up and down and shooting a smaller Mire Lurk blocking the way, Buck and I made our way down the spiraling staircase. "I hope this takes us where we're going. I'm going based on memory."

"Just pull up your mini-map on your EFS, I did!" I told him. I was staring at a small map of the Castle in the upper right corner of my vision.

"Good thinking, but uncross your eyes, you'll fall down the stairs," said Buck, stopping in front of me at the landing and causing me to nearly crash into him.

"I'm always doing that, aren't I?" I giggled.

"Shh," he shushed me quietly, trying to be polite about it. "This door is locked but labeled Dungeon."

"So we made it?!" I asked.

"I didn't bring any lockpicks and your lockpick skill is too low for this door."

"I don't have any either, but I do know a spell or two." I winked and pushed past him.

The Guardian grumbled, "Okay, whatever you say," as he backed to give me room to work. I focused my EFS, activating my spell framework, _(something Pumpkin Spice helped me make sometime last year)._ I focused on the door, lock and spell; sticking my tongue out and going cross eyed as I worked.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"No, no, no, no, no!" I was going crazy with worry. I had killed most of the Lurkers outside but inside they were trying to retake the courtyard. I dove and rolled, coming to a halt near Card, who was defending his position next to the radio with Wonder. "Wonder, I need help as soon as possible, Capper and Cheshire are down!"

"Buck, are you serious?" Wonder shouted as he was busy shooting down some oncoming enemies, "Clear me a path!"

"Will do!" I was on a rampage. Too bad I didn't have any Rage left, I'd have to go to Everfree if I wanted any more. I was tempted to use Malice but I didn't know how that drug would affect me until I could refine it into Sympathy as Mama had said.

"Wait," Wonder paused, leaving me to do all the dirty work for a second, "who's Cheshire?"

I looked down at my hooves, the red magic was still active around me. "You'll find out, just come on!"

Cheshire Cat

I blinked…and blinked some more. "Curiouser and curiouser is all the mouse could say…" I sat up and blinked again. The world; it was so vivid. The colors; they were so alive. I felt them in my heart and on my breath as I breathed in the wind. "Hello?" I felt like a newborn. "When there is no direction to go but up, then up we must go." I hopped to my feet. Those dreadful, dreadfully dreadful creatures were gone. I don't know where they had gone to, but gone they were and that was all the better by me.

"I speak, I breath, just as the breeze in my tail." I felt my tail curl around me, actually felt it! And I hugged it, breathing in my own pristine odor, speaking my own cockney words, "How delightful the smell, of fresh baked cookies!" _I smell like cookies? No, it is something much stronger…_ I began to seize up, feeling an onrush of energy and then, "Achoo!" pepper sprayed from the end of my tail. "Pepper? Pepper and the pauper?" I could not remember, it was like my memories were old but new. "Pig and the pepper!" I proclaimed.

"There, there he is!" came a voice, to and fro it went. I saw him, the pony in my dreams, or rather in Capper's dreams.

"Ravager Blitzfire, how good it is to meet you!" I yelled but he rushed right through me as though I did not stand before him. "My body? What of it?" I looked down at myself, seeing I stood on nothing but my head.

"HOLY SHIT!" yelled the second pony who had come running in behind Blitzfire. "W-what in Equestria are you?"

I looked up and saw my feet. "What a strange way to meet, a stranger standing on his head." I smiled a devilish smile, licking my sharp teeth and extending a paw below my head. My feet fell to earth. The wonderful cream colored pony took my paw.

"My name is…Wonderful…"

"What a wonderful, splendicular name!" I boasted as I shook his hoof with gleeful enthusiasm. Then his hoof fell through me.

"Where did you go?"

"Forget Cheshire for now, he's obviously fine!" yelled Blitz. "It's Capper who seems to have the concussion."

Capper Dapperpaws

"Blitz…Blitzy, is that you babe?" I rubbed my head and slowly opened my eyes. "My head is poundin'." I told him. In front of me stood Wonder, the medic who had come with us to the Castle.

"Here, drink this. It's a special brew made specifically for headaches." Wonder was bringing an HP potion toward my lips but the color was a slightly darker shade of red than the normal health potion.

"I didn't know they had headache potions," I said as I sipped it. "What do I owe ya?" I chuckled. A pang went through my body and I stopped laughing at once.

"They don't," said Blitzy.

Wonder smiled, "Yeah, I made this brew myself. And you don't owe me anything, it's my job."

"He's only messing with you," said Blitzfire. "He likes to do that."

"That I do!" I nodded. "Where's Cheshire, I tried to save him."

Blitz nodded and frowned, his whole expression going from relieved to pissed in .0 seconds flat. "He's fine, he's made of magic you dumbass! How could you do that?! How could you risk yourself for a program in your head when you have me to think about!?"

"Sounds like drama I don't want to get between," Wonder began to back away.

"Wait," I held a paw up to him, "Did we win?"

"Yeah, we won. Now answer the question," snapped Blitz.

"I know you're mad," I told him, locking eyes with Blitz, "but he's more than just some program. Where is he? If you'd just look at him, you'd realize he's alive and deserves to be here just as much as the rest of us."

"I don't know about any of that," said Wonder, "but he is right here." Wonder stepped aside, revealing the now fully visible Cheshire Cat.

"How I appear to be here, I do not think that is clear." he giggled and disappeared again.

"The red magic!" Blitz looked down at himself, where a slowly fading red aura was visible around him. "You were sustaining your attribute magic on me by drawing power from Cheshire. You two have been connected by arcane science this whole time!"

"So every time I was amping you up in battle, I was really hurting Cheshire?" I bit my lip and looked over to the purple catlord. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," I said.

"What he said," Cheshire smiled. "I was rather tired, but I can keep up. I have a lot of magical energy."

"Sounds like you guys need to learn about mana," said Wonder, lifting a hoof and shaking the bangle on it. "I have to pay attention to it every time I fight."

I asked him, "Whatcha mean, amigo?"

"These anklets allow me to use magic during combat, but only if I don't use all my MP. I had to replicate OJ's EFS in order to create a meter for myself, but I did it. Maybe we could do something like that for you too."

"That would be swell!" I smiled.

"Let's worry about that later, then," Blitz told me and reached out a hoof to help me up. I accepted and was back on my feet in no time. The potion was helping me feel better. Now it was time to regroup in the courtyard.

* * *

Orange Juice

The dungeons were dank, dirty and wet. It was dark in here and I had to use the light of my magic to guide the way. Guardian also had his own flashlight attached to the chest of his suit. We were making our way through the barracks, which was a new word I had learned. They seemed to be the first part of this floor of the Castle before actually entering the main Dungeon but my mini-map showed we were getting close.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Buck halted and pulled back to take cover behind a wall. There was a T-intersection and a little view slot in the wall up ahead. "I think they have Security Ponytrons in here. We may need to find a way to disable them before we can continue. OJ, do you think you can go into Stealth Mode?"

"I'll try my best!" I yipped, then realized what he said and whispered, "Sorry! I'll try my best."

"Very well. I'll go take out as many as I can, you need to see if you can find the Security terminal and deactivate it remotely," he instructed me. "Think you can do that?"

"Yessir!" I barked then put a hoof over my mouth. I went right as he signaled me to do and he went left.

I came to a door that was labeled LOCKED: EASY. All I needed to do was cast a simple unlock spell, no extra work required, and my EFS informed me of Stealth XP. Hehe, the XP looked like a funny tongue sticking out face! I pushed the old door open and to my surprise, there actually was a terminal sitting on a dusty desk. The Guardian must have known how to read his minimap way better than I did!

I walked slowly toward it, trying to be careful. When Ravager Blitzfire had left last year, I remember being sad about it for a time, but that quickly turned into my fondness for the memories we had made together. I had looked up to him, and Wonder had helped me to move on from him. Now, I tried to remember all my training as a treasure hunter to carefully avoid any traps. There was a thin tripwire in the doorway that I noticed right away and disarmed swiftly. "Yes!"

Other than that, the room was empty. As I walked in and approached the Security port, my mind wandered to Blitzfire. I wondered what he was doing right now, or if he was okay. I hoped upstairs the group had managed to take care of the Lurkers. But if I didn't deactivate Security then there was no way we were getting to the heavy ammunitions for the party canons. So I let my mind drift away from Blitzy and back to the task at hoof.

"Okay, OJ, what do we got going on here?" I put both front hooves on the keypad and began to hack the computer. I had to use some magic I had learned within the past year, some arcane science that I'd never have found out about if not for all my friends at the Fort. The computer activated its arcane coding software and I did my magic. "A tweak here, a pinch there…Okay!" the terminal beeped and my EFS notified me of hacking XP. Hehe!

These options appeared onscreen:

[SECURITY PROTOCOLS]

[BARRACK LOGS]

[DUNGEON LOCKS]

I selected Security Protocols and deactivated all the Ponybots. It was a simple keypad command in order to do it. Then I returned to the main menu, curious to know what the other ones were. The logs were just journal entries for the Castle. One was from Colonel Raven Shaw of the Minute Hoof Scouts and Patrol #233. It was dated recently:

" _I am locked in the dungeons with Security Ponytrons that appear to be malfunctioning. They will no longer respond to MHSP orders and need to be shut down if we're ever to get the artillery munitions we need. This is bucking crazy if you ask me but until somepony decides to reclaim the Castle, I'm trapped down here with little to no supplies. I think there's an old storeroom, I hope there's food. I'll sneak past these dumbass bots and hole up in there. Colonel Shaw #233 over and out._ "

I decided to ignore the dungeon locks, just because I didn't know what they did and I could unlock them magically if necessary. I backed from the room and spun around to face a tall figure I'd never seen before.

* * *

"Gah!" my heart skipped a beat and went racing like a horse. "Wh-who are you?" I asked the tall mare in olive green heavy armor I saw before me. She wore a green military beret as well.

"I am Colonel Raven Shaw #233, reporting for duty. You, I believe, I have to thank for my rescue from these here damned Dungeons." she saluted and held out a gauntleted hoof in greeting.

I shook her hoof, "Nice to meet you, Puppydog Orange Juice of the Bittsberg Fort, um, well, reporting for duty."

"Very good soldier!" she nodded and smiled. "Now let's get the tartarus outta here!"

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"Okay, so now that we've retaken the Castle—" Card was explaining.

"Thank you for that by the way," Colonel Shaw nodded to us.

Card continued, "—I've restored communications and informed Shadow. Now all that's left to do is arm cannons and blow that bitch queen out of the water."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Buck stated firmly. "I'd like to get back to Sanctuary as soon as possible to report our progress."

"Oh, don't worry about that," said Card, "we've relayed your message to Sanctuary. Colonel, can you please do the honors of killing that Behemoth?"

Capper jumped to attention, "Oh hell no she ain't about to take my job. Pardon my language, ma'am but I didn't just fight a battle for y'all for nothin'."

"Go right ahead, you folk rescued my sorry donkey, not the other way around." she smiled and gave a firm salute to our little group.

"Donkey?" OJ piped up.

"Ass," Wonder whispered to him. "She's a bit outdated." he was laughing as quietly as he could. She did not comment.

"Cardkeeper, unless you gotta be with Shadow asap, I know you two gotta son, I want you to be the active communications officer until more Scouts arrive." Colonel Shaw ordered.

"Yes, ma'am!" Card saluted her. "It would be my honor, I've heard so much about you and I've always wanted to meet you."

"Then waiting here until then should be no problem for you. Now, if you guys," she gestured to Capper and I, "would follow me, I'll take you to the party canons."

"It ain't a party without a dash of Pumpkin Spice!" Pumpkin came bouncing along too.

We ascended the turret stairs and walked up to the very large, pink and blue canon. There were floating balloon symbols painted on its axis and pivots, the symbol for Pinkie Pie. I remembered it well, it was difficult to forget a mare like her. Down in the waters, I saw the Lurker Queen splashing about, possibly making more of her nasty not-little babies.

Shaw climbed a ladder, "We just add the cannonballs here…" she loaded the ammo.

"And a dash of Pumpkin Spice there," Pumpkin jumped up and dropped something into the canon out of nowhere and then she was by my side again. By now I was used to her, she was so much like her great-however-many-greats-grandmare that I just didn't question it anymore.

"And I shall let one of you do the honors of firing the canon, it is already aimed precisely in the Queen's direction," Shaw told us.

"No way I ain't pulling the cord on this baby," Capper was rubbing his paws together in mischievous glee. He slinked up to the cannon and grabbed the ripcord. "On the count of three. One…"

"Two-three!" Pumpkin yelled fast for him and he laughed and pulled the cord.

 _BOOOOOOM-EEEEEEEEHHHHW-KABLEWWWWY…_ went the cannonball as it exploded in a poof of Pumpkin's magically enhanced fireball confetti.

"And they all went falling down!" Pumpkin was laughing crazily.

"Indeed…" Capper was stroking his chin. Then he blinked, "Is what Cheshire wanted me to tell you all. But pone was that damn enjoyable." he grinned.

"I'm glad you had fun." I smiled back.

Colonel Shaw spoke up, "Now that that bitch is outta my waters, we can work on restoring this outpost to its former glory. Tell Press if he wants a party canon of his own, I have blueprints drawn up in my warroom and that there are plenty of parts for them here. And if you need any assistance out in the wastes, the range on these bad boys is as far out as Sanctuary, not further than that. I can't help you in Double Diamond."

"If we wanted a test run, what would we do?" I questioned.

She pursed her lips in thought, "Um, shoot a red Minute Hoof flare? Ask Press if you don't have any. I may even request some blue flares, our Scouts and Patrol flares have been used up, but he'll have some."

"Sounds good to me," I nodded.

With that, it was time for our ragtag team of Fort ponies to return to Griffonstone Station. We said our goodbyes and headed back to the main road.

 _(Footnote: Can you tell this is based on the Castle quest from Fallout 4? I hope this chapter makes for a good crossover. I tried to put a lot of thought into what kind of battle I wanted it to be. I wanted it to make sense for this universe, so instead of fighting the queen head on, they had to stop her minions and shoot her with a party cannon. You like that, Party Cannon? Pretty clever huh? Anyway, Intermission I will be coming up next, sometime within the next couple weeks. It'll be a nice little holiday chapter for the month of December and I can't wait to get it posted! Love you guys, and keep on reading ^^)_

 **Brohoof /)**


	18. Intermission I Drinks Bring Back All--

**Intermission I** Drinks Bring Back All the Memories

 _(Note, this chapter takes place out of context from the rest of the story. It falls into the timeline sometime within Chapter 17)_

Nexus Spark

 _Pre-War: 15 and a half Years Before The Megaspells_

Having been nice enough to let me stay, I had been living with Blitz and his parents for the past few months. They were helping me work through my issues with depression as much as they could and for the most part, it really helped. My mother was dead and my stepfather…well he was dead too. The police thought I had something to do with it, I had been seen at the scene of the crime around the time his death had been called in. But I had been the one to call it in!

Thankfully their questions were over and the autumn solstice had now passed, with the weather turning to winter. Hearthswarming Eve was almost upon us and I was trying not to dampen the mood. Currently, I was using a memory sphere device to listen in on some notes I took during class. We were seniors and finals were upon us.

"This world will never be what I expected…" I said aloud to myself as I penciled in some responses to the practice test. I spit the pencil out and stared at the greenish-gray orb in my hoof. "And if there's something wrong..." _who would've guessed…_ I was murmuring to myself.

"What's that?" asked Blitzfire over on his bed. He was chewing on his eraser but he wasn't really writing anything.

"It's just that, if we want in on the action in college, we've gotta guess at too many variables! No one will ever see this side of things…" I was biting my lip as I picked up the pencil in my magical aura. I had to pass this test or I wouldn't get into IT classes next semester at university. Blitz and I were in our school's fast track program, seeing as tensions with Zebricka were tightening by the day and Stable Tech needed bright young minds to fill the Stables they were constructing.

"Well, if there's something wrong, who would've guessed it?" asked Blitz.

He wasn't really paying attention to me, but he was exactly right, just not in the ways he thought. He was a smart colt, exactly who I'd have chosen to be a bright young Overseer, and I really hoped he got into the program, but sometimes he was so dense. I was really struggling here. Everypony thought I was my stepstallion's murderer. I mean, it made sense. I was at the scene of the crime, I hated his guts and he killed my sister. I had motive and opportunity, why couldn't anypony see I had not the means. Unless I stabbed him with my horn or used magic on him and neither stab marks nor residual arcana had been found on the body.

"I've left alone…" I muttered to myself… _I just want to feel like it's not too late._ A little voice always told me it was never too late, and I hoped Blitzy knew that too. _It's never too late._ I kept on telling myself.

"Hey, so my mom still plans to host her holiday party this year if you're interested in coming out of our room for once. I was thinking we'd spike her homemade applenog!" Blitz was laughing to himself.

"Sounds great Blitzy…" little did I know that this memory and my feelings were recording over my notes…

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time: 206 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

"Yah!" I jumped up in bed, feeling disoriented and confused at the same time. Near my hoof was something cold, a little ball, too dark to tell what it was in the low light of the detective agency's litter box; as Capper liked to call it. It was a loft above the main shop to be more precise. I turned on an oil lamp and heard Capper groan. It was a little green ball in my hand, magical residue pouring from it. I set it down carefully, saying, "Huh…" I had been dreaming I was Nexus and we were back in college, planning a huge prank at my mom's party. Oh, how she had been so pissed. I bet if she was still alive she'd look back fondly on the memory…

"Whatchu doing awake, baby?" Capper murmured, giving me a tiny smile. He looked cute when he was tired.

I pecked him on the lips. "I think I accidentally touched a memory orb in my sleep. I'm wide awake now, so I'm gonna go see about coffee."

Capper looked out the window, "The artificial moon is still up but I'm gonna guess by the light level in the city that it's about 6 in the morning, I'm sure Perkins is still up, but I need my catnap, so I'll be up here if you need me." with that he shoved himself under a pillow and went back to sleep.

I went downstairs to find Perkins residing over a pretty hot coffee pot. "Hey, I normally prefer tea, but seeing as everypony and their cat is home for the holidays I got some coffee. Piper wanted to plan a holiday party before everypony went out to find Double Diamond and I thought it was a great idea!" Perkins was an assistant, she probably loved the idea of managing something like that. Good thing Pumpkin Spice was here.

"I bet it was Pumpkin's idea to begin with," I mumbled as I reached for the pot and grabbed a mug.

"Do you take it straight or with cream?" asked Perkins, opening an icebox.

"Black, like my soul." I smiled at her.

"Right, right. I imagine all adventuring types say that." she rolled her eyes but laughed.

I shook my head as I sipped gingerly at my coffee, feeling its effects waking me up more. "No, Capper loves his cream."

"He's a cat, I'd think there was something wrong with him if he didn't like cream." she laughed out loud.

"True, true." I continued sipping my drink. I saw her dipping a tea bag in water and fetching sugar cubes from the cabinet; which was okay, but coffee was way better in my opinion.

 _Knock, knock, knockity, knock!_ Came a rhythmic rapping on the door. "Who could that be? The sign clearly states we aren't open until 8." Perkins set her tea down on her messy desk and went to answer the door. Moving the blinds aside she peered outside. "Oh, one of your friends."

Opening the door, Pumpkin Spice bounced merrily in. "IT'S HEARTHSWARMING EVE EVE!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. There came an angry groan from upstairs.

"Looks like Capper's gonna get up at 6:30 in the morning afterall," I shook my head and smiled at Pumpkin Spice. "Where _do_ you get all your energy from?"

"Eve Eve was gonna be my first question," stated Perkins.

"I get all my energy from the great company I keep," Pumpkin continued in her loud tones and I saw Capper beginning to descend the stairs, "and to answer _your_ ," she stared pointedly at Perkins, her eyes nearly bulging, "question, we have exactly _ONE_ day to plan this partay!" she was giddy and smiley all at once, and I bet she would be bouncing off the walls if this place wasn't so small. "I would love to bounce off the walls," she whispered in my ear, but how she managed a whisper to me I had no idea because I never saw her move.

"Well, let me get a notepad then," said Perkins, digging through her supplies hidden under all the paperwork on her desk.

"I was thinking, what about that bar in town, Third Peak?" asked Pinkie. Perkins penned it down.

"Why's it called that, I always wondered," I asked them and saw Perkins open her mouth to reply.

"It's the third peak from the top," Capper told us.

Perkins looked surprised, "You know your urban lore!" she smiled at him.

"Well, it's because my windmill here is no peak from anythin', sweetheart. We're all the way at the bottom and I've always been disgruntled by it."

"That's what you get for choosing Double Diamond City as your litter box." Perkins winked and laughed.

"Don't be a tease." Capper waved dismissively at her as he reached for his trademark trenchcoat and put it on, slowly removing his midnight purple nightclothes as he did so and storing them in a drawer. "By the way, Third Peak sounds like a great venue. Chef is an amazing cook, and has great hard applenog!" he winked at me.

"What?" I was taken aback.

"You mentioned something about 'spiking the nog' in your sleep," he made air quotes with his claws. "Figured you'd be down for some hard applenog instead of cider, which is also available at the Third Peak."

I thought on it, remembering spiking Mom's applenog and how pissed she'd been when all her friends got drunk without realizing it. I laughed, "I was only dreaming!" I felt protective over my Nexus memories. Speaking of which, "I'll be right back!" I dashed up the stairs, realizing two things, I forgot my vest upstairs for one. For another, I wanted to keep that memory with me at all times until the holidays were over. I didn't want anypony to ask me about Nexus this Hearthswarming Eve.

While I fetched those things, I heard Pumpkin humming a tune to a pony Hearthswarming Eve song as everypony, and cat, discussed the holiday plans. Capper was grumbling about being woken up. I retrieved my vest, putting it on, and from underneath it rolled the green sphere. It was definitely Nexus' green color and as I picked it up, another flash of his memories hit me, this time more vividly…

* * *

Nexus Spark

 _Pre-War: 15 and a half Years Before The Megaspells_

We were on holiday break and I was busy trying to ignore Blitz's ideas of trouble. That's what I liked to call them anyway, because the little mischief maker was always getting us into trouble. Not that I minded, we were kids, I liked to have fun too! I was just a bit depressed from everything that happened the other month, I didn't even feel like thinking about Hearthswarming Eve. I knew how great Blitz's mom's parties could be, party planner was her job afterall, but I didn't know if I was feeling up to it.

"Come on!" Blitz was whining at me as I made a sandwich. His mom was out of town working with a client. She'd be back in a few days for her annual Hearthswarming Eve party. "I know you're depressed but I'm trying to make the holidays more fun!"

I spread some mayo on one side of the top bun, grabbing some hay from a pouch I'd found in the fridge. There was already a thin piece of lettuce on the bottom bun. "You do realize alcohol is a depressant, right?"

"Pone, what do you take me for, a donkey? No duh, it's a depressant, but it also gets you drunk." Blitz was sticking his tongue out at me.

I sighed heavily. "I'll think about it," I said as I finished with my sandwich, and turning to him, I took a bite from it…

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time: 206 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

"Come on Blitzfire!" called Pumpkin from downstairs, "We're all heading out! Do you have your vest on yet?"

I was just finishing up, pulling it around my shoulders and slipping my fore-hooves through the holes. Hopping toward the stairs on three legs, I was trying my best to zip up the vest and shove the sphere into a buttoned pocket at the same time. " _Coming,_ I'm _coming!"_

"Sure you are!" Capper was laughing his ass off from downstairs.

I grumbled to myself, "Ya don't gotta take it like that." then I was off down the stairs and out the door with the rest of them.

 **OOO**

We all found a table that was big enough to accommodate 10 people and Capper's invisible 11th. It was a large round table in the corner, a huge booth with chairs pulled up. The booth seats were padded and Capper immediately slid into it so I had to follow. I would've preferred not to be trapped in the booth, especially not next to Pumpkin Spice, but so be it. Wonder sat next to her; and on my other side, my left, was Capper; then the Guardian. OJ sat beside him in a chair and the rest had to pull up seats. Ashe was beside OJ, but she skipped a seat to allow for Cheshire; then came Combat Zone, Cherry and Lily—now it was a full circle with two empty seats—next to Wonder going towards my right.

Perkins had gone to the bar to order everypony's drinks and food as well as to reserve this space for the revenue. All were welcome of course, so Double Diamond City was gonna see one party it was never going to forget. It looked like Chef was agreeing to it wholeheartedly, and why not, he would be seeing a huge influx of income. She came back to the table with a tray, sitting in the empty seat between Wonder and Lily, the one reserved for her, not Cheshire.

"So he's approved us for tomorrow, he's actually pretty excited." Perkins set the tray down in the center of the table. I instantly reached for my hayburger, hungry as tartarus. Capper had what Chef liked to call "pet treats" and a tuna sandwich, plus a glass of milk. It all looked gross to me, but if he was happy, I was happy.

"Why wouldn't he be excited?" asked Pumpkin, who was talking around a bite of veggie-burger. "It's gonna be a _paaaartay!_ " she spread the word out.

"I…don't think that's why he's excited, Pumpkin," said the Guardian.

"Same diff-wence to me," she was eating and talking at the same time.

"So what exactly is the plan, because I for one would like to be aprised of all the details," said Cherry, waiting to take a bite of his lettuce-hayburger until after talking. He also had a hard cider he was sipping from.

"I agree," was all Lily said as she forked her salad. She had a glass of water and appeared to be a very healthy eater.

"So Pumpkin and I agreed to a midday party that would probably, _most likely,_ last about 3 to 4 hours," Perkins said around sipping her tea. She had a wheat biscuit she liked to dip in her drink, but had already eaten breakfast about an hour ago so she preferred not to have as much food on her plate. She may appear disorganized but was, in fact, the opposite. No wonder Capper liked her so much; hopefully he was able to pay her well.

" _More_ likely 5 if I have my way," giggled the party pony.

"I'd love to have a party for 5 hours!" Orange was laughing along with her.

"Unfortunately, some of us would not, 3 sounds way better to me," Combat Zone piped up after finishing his 3rd hard cider. He'd been to and from the bar many times now and had had two hayburgers.

"I for one think 4 hours is pretty damn reasonable," Capper was grinning as he sat forward, lifting his glass of milk and gingerly licking from the surface of the liquid. He had already eaten about half his sandwich. The tuna was glopping out onto the plate and my stomach turned over just looking at it.

I set my burger down, "So it's agreed 4 hours then?"

Everypony muttered amongst themselves and then Ashe Erza spoke up. She was the most gluttonous of us all, for she had had 3 hayburgers and a salad, plus 2 hard ciders. "It is agreed upon and hereby 4 hours!" she lifted a mug, "A toast, to friends on Hearthswarming Eve Eve!"

"I'll toast to that!" Pumpkin shouted and hopped on the table. OJ commenced to follow her, looking up at the party pony with wondering eyes. Everypony laughed, including me. Pone, I had missed these guys.

 **OOO**

Pumpkin had the bar closed for the rest of the day, requesting she be allowed to decorate and set up. Everytime I went back to the bar to order a drink or ask how things were going, I noticed more and more equipment being set up. Where the speakers came from, I wouldn't even bother asking, but so far everything was looking great. There were white and blue table cloths, red and green decorations hanging about and streamers everywhere. I think the Guardian was trying to calm down Pumpkin and Erza's decorating habits because they both appeared chaotic.

Good thing Perkins was here to help, especially with Cherry on her side. Cher, as he liked to be called, was addressing a bunch of bar employees, barking orders at them like a drill sergeant. Perkins was busily apologizing for his crude behavior, as she was non-military and knew a more calm way of talking to the waitstaff. When she wasn't apologizing, she was directing ponies from a list she carried on a clipboard. It appeared decorating was well organized with this bunch, but with Orange Juice and Wonderful helping, I just felt in the way.

Instead, I was planning on meeting Capper for dinner on the town. It would be our first date in a long time and I had asked him to come to Takahashi's Noodle Stand. I was waiting in the ski-lift with somepony I didn't recognize. He was a dark blue with even darker blue poofy mane. He honestly looked like a winter version of Pumpkin Spice. "Hi…" I said, a little cautious.

"Oh hey!" his voice was a light tone, a little higher pitched than mine but not by much.

"I'm Blitzfire, what about you?"

"Oh! Oh! I've heard a lot about you!" he was smiling. He appeared polite and pleasant but I did not like that creepy ass smile.

"You…have, have you?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

His smile became more reassuring, "Oh yeah, lots! On Galaxy News Radio, DJ Pon3 is just the best, isn't he?"

"I suppose so, but I find him a bit annoying."

He shook his head but his creepy smile remained, "Oh! Not at all!"

The lift came to a stop at the bottom of the first mountain, the gate opening at the head of the main road leading into town. "You sure do say 'oh' a lot, and you never told me your name."

He hopped out of the car, "I'll see you at the party! I've got to go get some things for Pumpkin Spice. I sure do like her!" he waved as he bounced away down the trail.

 **OOO**

"Hey babe," said Capper as he slid into a seat at the noodle stand. The artificial sun was just now beginning to set and lighting in the city was beginning to dim.

"Hey, have you noticed that blue poofy maned pony around?" I asked Capper.

He chuckled and tapped the bell on the counter, "Oh, Party Favor? He's been helping Pumpkin out, why?"

"He's very, how do I say…offputting," I spoke slowly, trying to recall my encounter with him, but for some reason, my memory felt off.

"I haven't noticed anything wrong with him. Don't be paranoid now," Capper flagged down the Ponybot named Takahashi so we could order some dinner. "Now, what would you like in your noodles? I'm asking for light catnip! A treat to myself."

"Oh, I was gonna pay, Capper, this is a date!" I smiled at him and he gave me a surprised look.

"A date? No catch?"

"I know, you don't like being paid for, but I promise, there's no catch." I had to reassure him. He used to be a con artist Pre-War. I understood his thinking, but it was something he should work on changing.

"Oh, alright. How very romantic of you," he shoved me playfully.

"It's not a big deal. And I'd like veggie soup, thanks, Taka." I nodded to the robot. It blipped and honked, and spoke in that weird language nopony could understand. I turned to Capper, "What exactly is he, because it's obvious he isn't a synth, but he is a robot."

Capper explained as we got served our food, "He's one of the base synth models, a prototype gone wrong. He can understand everything we say, but he has no translator protocols or artificial skin."

"So you're more realistic because you're organic and magically enhanced?" I asked.

"Arcane science at its finest baby." he winked but I gave him a look. "So yes, I suppose so." he included.

"What about—" Capper lifted a paw to cut me off before he took a bite of his catnip garnished noodles.

"Baby, baby, chill. This is a date, no? As I seem to recall, a date goes two ways. Let me do some of the talkin'." he was smiling. "Or rather, how about some singin', kuz baby," he jumped up on top of his stool and from out of nowhere a smooth jazzy melody began to play from the booth speakers. It sounded like a jazz version of a Hearthswarming Eve song but Capper was making his own lyrics.

* * *

Capper Dapperpaws

 _"This aint no sideshow, and you aren't just my sideshow pony!_

 _No, I wanna remedy, that I ain't no phony."_

I jumped onto the counter and used it as a balance beam. _"And don't get me wrong,_

 _our casual existence is great, but I wanna make it clear in song! I love ya, love ya and I gotta have ya._

 _Kuz I'm breakin' down in tears, and I'm holdin' all these fears!"_ walking across, I spun around to face my coltfriend, _"That I'm gonna lose ya one day, and I can't find the way…"_

I jumped off the counter and landed on my feet in the cold snow. I grabbed Blitz's forehooves and held tight, _"To express in song, what's in my heart!"_

I let go of him, " _We're far apart,"_ sitting back down, I began to draw to a close and catch my breath and be still my racing heart, _"and I wanna get close to you! Kuz, I love ya…"_ Losing track of the rhythm I stopped to breathe. Cheshire was sitting on the counter, giving me quiet applause, which I really appreciated. I turned and gave him a small smile as thanks for the encouragement.

I mouthed, _Thank you,_ at him and he nodded with a big toothy grin. His teeth were very sharp I was noticing, and the way he appeared to go in and out of existence was very trippy. I had to stop staring at his swirling purple/lavender stripes or I was gonna throw up. So instead, I turned back to Blitzfire. "Well, whattaya think, Blitzy?" I smiled shyly, for the first time in my long life feeling uncomfortable. My heart felt like it was trying to jump out of my throat.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

I blinked, completely shocked at him, but he was known to burst into song on occasion. "I think that was very sweet, but you kinda lost the melody there at the end…are you drunk?"

Capper was just finishing slurping another bite of noodles but he stopped in the middle, a noodle hanging down his chin, and his eyes went completely wide. His slitted pupils were dilated as well. He looked at me, then down at his food and let the noodle fall back to his plate, "Um…no, I must be high off my donkey…heheh, donkey…" he couldn't contain his giggles at the small word.

"Well, maybe it's time to get off the high horse and head to bed." I was shaking my head at him but laughing at myself. I helped him get up and led him back toward the windmill detective agency, "I did like the song though by the way."

"Yup, you did say." he was leaning heavily on me, appearing really tired. I yawned, which was reciprocated by him. "Goodnight," he said when we were upstairs in his room. He fell asleep on his bed the second he hit it. "Goodnight, my cute tomfriend." I couldn't stop smiling. I hoped somehow, somewhere this memory was being recorded.

* * *

Nexus Spark

 _Pre-War: 15 and a half Years Before The Megaspells_

 _Dear Winter,_

 _I hope you like your name…'Cause Winter is a badass name. I hope when you grow up, and go to school, they don't make fun of you._

 _I hope you talk to girls. Or boys, or anyone you like. I just hope you don't sleep in every night. I honestly wish I was out tonight…_

 _Ah, it really doesn't seem like there's anyone there for me, but Winter, I'm hoping that someday, I can meet you again. Shit, I just gotta get Blitz's mom's party…_

 _Dear Winter, I hope you like this poem. You'd have been 13 today…December 10th…maybe you scream at me, because I parented you wrong, but I'm just your brother, what was I supposed to do? Let him teach you how to curse? We were only little unicorns!_

 _Ah, I hope you like this poem, I hope it's still a badass song._

 _It really doesn't seem like there's anyone here for me, even though I know Blitz still cares. Dear Winter, I'm trying to get used to this. I'm still looking for our Mom. A promise is a promise…_

 _Blitz thinks I need to find love…I gotta find a mare that doesn't mind that I'm inside my head a lot. Winter, it won't be long now…I just have to…find…mom…_

I put down my Faust forsaken pencil and tried to stop my beating heart. I had been crying and tears had fallen all over the letter I'd been writing. It was a note to Fire Flower, but I'd replaced her name with Winter. I couldn't think about her, and I knew today was going to be a terrible day. December 10th, Fire Flower's birthday. She wouldn't be here to celebrate and all I had for comfort was Blitzfire. Don't get me wrong, he's my best friend, but…

Everything was spinning out of control and I felt so upset and so mad and so everything all at the same time! There was no way Blitzfire could comfort me like this. I wish I knew what happened to my mom, and I wished Blitz's mom was home sooner rather than later, but there was still one more day to get through; the hardest day of them all…

I grabbed for my stress ball and gave it a squeeze when I realized what I was holding wasn't actually my stress ball, but my green class note memory sphere! I had recorded over everything! All my final notes were gone and the memory of this letter now lingered. "Faust fucking dammit! I needed those notes for next year!" I slammed my hooves down on the desk and let go of the memory orb.

"Nexus? Is everything okay?" came a familiar voice from behind me. I had woken Blitzfire up…

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time: 206 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

I jolted awake when I realized I was still wearing my vest and the green orb was still inside one of the pockets. "Faust dammit, I really gotta remember not to take that thing to bed with me."

"Take what thing, babe?" yawned Capper, who blinked at me. His green eyes appeared to glow in the dark and float in front of my face when I looked at him. "Faust, I'm so damned tired…"

"Shit, sorry, did I wake you up?" I quickly worked to take off the vest before I messed with Capper's sleep anymore.

"No, no…" he yawned again, "I mean yeah…you were talking in your sleep though so it wasn't all your fault. Why did you say your own name though? You dreaming from someone else's point of view or what?"

I gave him a quick kiss and tossed my vest to the side. "No. Or, I don't know. I don't really remember my dreams." Of course, that had been a lie, I remember my dream vividly because it was really Spark's memory. Nopony needed to know that though, no way today of all days would I be able to deal with that. Today of all days! It was Hearthswarming Eve!

"Oh, getting frisky are we?" Capper took me taking my shirt off as a sign for something else. He reached a paw up and grabbed my cheek, drawing me in for another kiss. "Damn I love you, baby." he winked and his eyes floated closer. No way was I saying no to this.

I kissed him back, and we fell in deeper. He was on top of me, and I was nuzzling his chest with my right hoof. His thick cream colored chest fur was poofy and soft and I loved to rub my hoof in it. "Hey there sexy," I kissed him some more. We were making out and as I rubbed his chest, I began to sink my hoof lower on his body. Low enough until I could feel that bulge through his nightclothes.

"Oh!" he giggled and we continued making out. We rolled until we were both on our sides and facing each other. He reached down low and then and there it was decided how we were spending the rest of the night.

"I love you," I told him.

"Love you right back," he winked and kept on going.

 **OOO**

I woke to the smell of something yummy cooking downstairs. Capper was not laying next to me when I opened my eyes and had to shade them from intense sunlight. Had somepony let me sleep in? I sat up, yawning and checking the time. It was well past 9 o'clock! I should've been up hours ago! Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to stay up that extra 3 hours last night. But it had been worth it.

I got up and retrieved my vest. I checked the pockets and my blood ran cold. The green sphere was missing. It must've fallen out, or rolled somewhere or, or! I didn't know. I zipped my vest and bolted down the stairs. "Capper! Capper, where are you and what's that smell?!"

"Sorry, Blitzy, but everypony is at the bar doing some last minute prep," said Pumpkin Spice who was in the kitchen. "Capper gave me some bits to do some baking and there was no way I wasn't passing up the opportunity." Pumpkin was busy mixing something in a bowl at the counter and I saw Perkins fretting over something in the oven.

"Perk?" I called to her.

"Huh?" she looked up, startled. "Oh, Blitz. If you're looking for Capper, he went to the noodle stand for brunch. He told me to tell you he wanted to talk about something."

My heart skipped a beat. "You can't just not tell somepony what you wanna talk about!" my nerves were on high alert, what with losing my orb and now this. I spun around and bolted out the door.

Capper was waiting at the noodle stand, just as Pumpkin had said. I had a cookie in hoof, and was munching on it. I was surprised because it actually tasted pretty good. I'm guessing Perkins had a hoof in that. Capper was standing, not sitting, but he was leaning against the stand's counter with one elbow propped on it. "Ah, I see you got my morning cookie."

"What, trying to bribe me?" I laughed and winked at him, just joking.

"Actually sort of. I saw the green orb, it had rolled out of your vest pocket and I was gonna put it back in but the arcana must be set to play at any touch because I…kinda saw things that I don't think you wanted me to see."

My heart fell, pretty much everything fell. Nopony was supposed to know about that and the Hearthswarming party was in just a few hours! "What?!" I burst out.

"I can see that you're upset," Capper held up two paws in self defense.

"Upset! I'm more than upset! Nopony was supposed to see that…" I scuffed the tip of my hoof through the snow…

"Okay, you're a bit anxious, but I do find it odd that you wouldn't be willing to tell me about Nexus. Who is he? Can I ask what happened?"

"Well, the cat's out of the bag now, aint he?" I made eye contact with Capper, and I saw a slight smile form there.

"Yeah, kinda." he nodded in agreement and crossed his arms. "So, you gonna tell me?"

"Can I tell you later, after the party?" I asked.

"Sure. How about we get some food in our bellies for now then?" he asked, turning to the counter and ringing Takahashi.

"Okay."

 **OOO**

It was 2 o'clock and Pumpkin was finally ready to open Third Peak. Inside, there were mostly white and blue decorations but there was a huge tree at the far northeast end of the room from the entry point with red and white decorations on it. There was arcana hanging in it that glowed white and green and gave the room a glittery look.

"Wow, Pumpkin, this all looks great." I smiled when I saw her.

She was beaming, proud. "I couldn't have done it without my friend Party Favor." she had one foreleg wrapped around the blue pony's shoulders. "He says he's Double Diamond's party pony."

"Oh, really?" Capper was stroking his chin.

The party was underway and ponies were arriving. I was at the booth in the southwest most corner of the room from the entrance, the table our group had sat at yesterday that had been reserved specifically for us. Then I saw a mare in a bright red coat and a gray newsstallion cap come galloping in. She stopped in the center of the room and looked around desperately searching for somepony. When her eyes locked on mine, she galloped my way.

I was harboring a hard cider that I was barely touching. I was planning on keeping my drinking down to a minimum, but I did want hard applenog later, my absolute favorite holiday beverage; Capper and I shared that in common; so who knew how the night would end up going? I perked up when Piper arrived at my table and took a seat across from me though.

"Whatcha doing all the way over here by yourself?" she asked.

"The party has barely started," I took a tentative sip of my cider.

She looked around, "Well, if ya ask me that's a good thing. I don't see that blue party pony about anywhere."

My ears shot up at the mention of Blue Nameless Party Pony. "What about him?"

"Ah, I can see you're suspicious too. I'm glad." she gave another cursory glance around the bar, making sure of something before continuing. "He came back with Double Diamond and I, but I didn't get to see where he came from. DD refused to let me come with him into the train station Party Favor came from."

"He didn't?" I narrowed my eyes, growing more concerned.

"No! He had me stake lookout to make sure none of "Combat's" raiders showed up. I don't know who Combat is, but it sounded crazy, raider's aint been in Bittsberg for almost a whole year now!" Piper slammed both hooves down on the table. "And now they're both missing!"

I bit my lip and nodded slowly my understanding, "Well, why don't we talk more about it after the party? I'm sure everypony would like to relax and have a good time."

Piper shook her head, "I gotta go write a paper, but you guys have all the fun you want while DD and PF get up to plotting."

"It probably isn't too serious, I hope," I told her as she got up and walked away. I shoved my cider away and got up to join the party.

 **OOO**

"Hey baby, want some nog?" Capper was swinging around a table, coming to find me at the bar.

"I'd love some applenog! Is it spiked?" I asked.

Chef coughed, "Best damn hard applenog in Equestria, right here if you ask me." he was cleaning a mug with a rag, as bartenders tended to do.

"Nopony did ask you," shot Capper with a teasing smile.

Chef laughed, "Lemme get you that nog." he filled a glass for me and I grabbed it.

Gingerly, I sipped it, having not tried it yet. "It tastes pretty rich. I think it's alright."

"Alright? It's better than alright!" Chef boomed and chuckled at me.

Capper was shaking his head, "No, no, no. Y'all gotta drink it faster than that if you wanna really enjoy it." he encouraged me to down the rest of it.

So I did, letting the burn of the alcohol skip down my throat. I set the mug down and wiped my muzzle with a napkin. "Next!"

"Coming right up!" Chef boasted as he refilled my cup. "That was some display, good job, pone."

"I can hold my liquor." I giggled at him. I would soon find out that 3 drinks were 2 too many.

 **OOO**

"Whoooo! Let's get this partay started!" came Pumpkin's voice over the speakers. She was set up at a DJ booth where Party Favor was now visible next to her. He was controlling the music and Pumpkin was holding the mic. "I wanna first start by saying, thank you to the splendicular Party Favor for helping me decorate this place, and for providing the speakers. Caps are pretty hard to come by you know."

"You're very welcome Pumpkin Spice! You know, you remind me of somepony very important to me." he was all smiles, but I still didn't feel like I could trust him. I sipped my fourth glass slowly, moderating it.

"How about we put on a slow dance for all those couples out there?!" Pumpkin asked him over the mic.

"Sounds like a great idea." for some reason I thought he locked eyes with me.

"Baby," came Capper's voice out of the blue. "Care to have this dance?" he was giving a little dramatic bow, holding out a paw in offering.

I was too drunk to care about anything at this point. "I'd love to!" I shouted over the now slow music. I grabbed his paw and he pulled me up to my hind legs. "Whoa!" I almost toppled the both of us, as I was stumbling about. I left my drink on a random table and Capper pulled me to the dance floor.

We spun and twirled and kept pace with the slow rhythm. If it had been any faster I may have puked. Thank Faust I didn't. "You're one of the best things that's ever happened to me, and it's usually hard for me to admit stuff like that," Capper whispered in my ear as we danced.

"Well, you're definitely the best thing that's ever happened to me!" I burped then contracted the hiccups.

We spun to a stop near a random table and Capper helped me to sit down, "Baby, you're drunk." he laughed.

"I'm not trying to be…"

Capper sat across from me and rested his chin on his paws. "You don't drink much do you?"

"I'm an—*hiccup!*—adventurer, I don't like to mess with my—*hic*—perception of reality. Especially not over my EFS." I groaned, feeling sick.

Capper flagged somepony down to get us some water. "Well, it looks like you my friend are very dehydrated."

"Yeah, I feel like I'm about to throw up!" I moaned and burped. The water came and I began to chug it.

"Not so fast!" Capper laughed at me. We sat there in silence for a moment while I slowly drank my water. I was starting to feel a little better now. "Can I ask you something personal?"

"I mean…if you want. I'm not sure how I'll respond."

"Can I ask about Nexus?" he said.

The simple mention of the name caused me to seize up. I didn't like to think about my old friend. It made me very anxious. "I guess…we can." I avoided eye contact, not feeling so good; and this time it was mentally, not physically.

"I'm only curious about who he is, is all." Capper put a paw on my hoof.

I really didn't wanna talk about this right now, but Capper's tender thumb pad was reassuring on my hoof. "He…was a friend of mine Pre-War. Unfortunately, Stable Tech betrayed us all and it's all my fault for not seeing it sooner."

"What's all your fault?" Capper blinked, retracting his paw. I wished he had kept it there.

"As Overstallion, it's all my fault that every single resident of Stable 14 was killed. The security staff turned against me with orders from Stable Tech. Nexus Spark hates me for it and I don't blame him."

Capper returned his paw to my hoof, "It looks like your blaming yourself for the actions of a corrupt organization."

"But as Overseer it is my responsibility to see to the safety of all my Stable citizens. Everypony died for Faust's sake!" I burst, starting to feel emotional. My eyes were watering. This is why I didn't want to talk about this right now.

"Okay, let's take a hoofstep back," Capper rubbed my hoof, making me feel calmer. "You're taking fault for something completely beyond your control, amigo."

"I…I just don't know!" the tears were streaming freely down my face and I wanted to get out of here.

"Let's go outside to cool off, we don't gotta talk about this anymore, okay?" he helped me get to my feet and we went outside.

* * *

Nexus Spark

 _Pre-War: 15 and a half Years Before The Megaspells_

It was the day of the party and Blitz's mom was busy in the kitchen making her delicious applenog. Blitz was still trying to convince me to spike it and I was leaning heavily towards yes just to appease him. I just wanted to get this party over with and maybe getting drunk was the way to go.

"So we just gotta wait for my mom to go grocery shopping. She has her cream and her sugar but I replaced her apples so she can't make the applesauce." Blitz was explaining to me up in our bedroom. Applesauce was the replacement for eggs in an eggnog recipe. It still tasted really good, especially to ponies.

"Sure, but Faust knows when that'll be." I rolled my eyes from the chair at my desk.

"Colts! I'm heading to the grocery store, I must've forgotten to by apples!" yelled Blitz's mom.

"There ya go," Blitz was grinning impishly at me.

We went downstairs, looking both ways in the dining room before dashing to the kitchen. His mom had in fact left. Now we were home free to raid the liquor cabinet. "I cannot believe we're actually going to do this!" I protested as Blitz pulled out a small bottle of bourbon.

"Me neither!" he gasped, a big smile on his face as he looked for a stool to climb up on. He got eye level with the counter, placing his rump on the stool head and popping the cap on the bourbon. It went flying Faust knows where. "I'll just do half a bottle and put this back."

"Sounds like a plan," I mumbled as I searched for the lost lid. I found it near the icebox. Using my green magic, I picked it up with my aura. "Are you done?" I asked him.

He was frowning, "It may be a little more than half." he said slowly but surely…

"What do you mean, 'more than half'?" I glared at him with dagger eyes.

"I may have tipped the whole bottle."

Just then the door was heard opening in the living room. "Faust, buck, buck!" my heart leapt to my throat and I snatched the now empty bourbon bottle from Blitzfire. "Colt this was a bad idea!" I hissed as I opened the trash, lifted some stuff out and hid the bottle far underneath everything else. Blitz was just hopping off the stool and I had just closed the trashcan lid when his mom entered the kitchen.

"You boys look like you're up to no good," she smiled as she set her bushel of apples down on the counter.

"Oh, we are…not!" I smiled warily as she grabbed a couple wooden bowls for mushing her apples.

"What are you doing in here, hmm?" she asked without glancing our way. We were slowly backing toward the dining room to get to the stairs.

"We were just taste testing the applenog, Mom," said Blitz, a mischievous grin on his face. His lie was pristine but his face told the story. At least she was too busy focusing on her apples now…

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time: 206 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

After my whole drunken fiasco, there was only one hour left to party. Capper was sipping on another cream-nog and I had been avoiding any hard cider or applenogs. It was time to sober up as the party wound to a close. I saw Pumpkin stepping up to the DJ stand but Party Favor was strangely missing. "As we wrap up the festivities I want to announce that as expected, Chef is the winner of the applenog contest! He made two varieties, one for ponies and one for catlords and I have to say I was pretty impressed with both, even if cream-nog doesn't taste good to me, Cappy seems to love it!" Capper lifted his glass.

"On that note, I encourage everypony and every-cat to hop on over to the dance floor to shake their bootays!"

I saw OJ pulling a protesting Wonder onto the dancefloor and that made me want to find Capper. Apparently, he wanted to find me too, kuz there he was, drunk off his ass, stumbling toward me and sloshing cream-nog from a mug all over the floor. "Look who needs water now!" I laughed and he gave me a sly smile.

"Hey baby, I wanna meet you over in that there booth if you would just follow me please." he was slurring his words and running his sentences. He was a big talker, I'd give him that, he just lost his charm when he was drunk. Or perhaps he had way too much of it. Either way I most definitely felt compelled to follow him into the booth. He immediately grabbed me. "Faust damn you're the sexiest pony here."

He was trying to give me a kiss and I chuckled, "Capper, I think you're too drunk for this." I kissed him back quick but he was sloppy so I pulled away. "Hey, do you want to watch my holiday orb real quick instead?"

"Sure thing!" he tried to sip more cream-nog but his cup was empty.

Glancing around the bar I quickly noticed that as always, Pumpkin's holiday party was a smashing success. I was looking around Third Base, noticing all our friends laughing and cheering over their cups of hard applenog, or mugs of hard cider. I felt a shimmer of true happiness I don't think I'd felt in a long time. Thinking back, the last time I felt this good was at Mom's holiday party, what felt like 21 years ago to me. I held up Nexy's memory sphere, activating its arcana…

* * *

Nexus Spark

 _Pre-War: 15 and a half Years Pre-War on Hearthswarming Eve's Night_

"Are you ready?" I asked Blitz. "We've spiked the punch, now we gotta live with the consequences. It's now or never, no going back." we were about to chug down the applenog in our glasses, knowing full well we'd be drunk off our asses in full view of everypony at his mom's party.

"Hey, it's already way too late in my opinion!" Blitz laughed and threw back his cup. He chugged it all down in one go and I smiled at him.

"Alright, fine, I'll stop being such a worrywart." I put my cup to my lips and did the same. My whole field of vision began to change. The room's light seemed dimmer and I burped. It tasted hot, hard to swallow and it burned my throat but I didn't stop chugging until every last drop was gone. At least it didn't taste bad. It was hardly noticeable around all the applesauce. The applesauce and cream mixed with cinnamon and nutmeg could be mistaken for that burning sensation. "Maybe…we won't get caught." I laughed and burped again.

"Oh, you colts are caught alright," came a voice behind us. Blitz's mom!

"Oh, Mrs. Ravage, I'm so so sorry!"

"All my friends had to go home early after drinking a bunch of water. What were you two thinking?" she had placed both hooves firmly down on the floor, standing poised and at attention. She looked very angry and intimidating.

"We thought we wouldn't get caught…" Blitz lowered his head, looking terrified and upset all at once.

"You don't think I know the taste of my favorite bourbon, or that an article from last week's newspaper on the top of the trash can wouldn't catch my eye?" she stomped a hoof to make her point.

"I'm sorry ma'am, *hic*." I lowered my eyes, looking at my hooves and feeling ashamed.

"Since it's the holidays I won't ground you until after tomorrow, but go get some water and go to your room." she snapped. She didn't move, expecting us to follow directions right away. We did so.

"Sorry, Mom," said Blitz again.

"It's just, you should know better. Especially you Nexus. And you're both drunk. What if you pulled a stunt like this in college? You want to be Overseer, right? And his Head of Maintenance? You colts are on the fast track for a reason." she didn't stop lecturing the entire time we fetched water from the kitchen and made our way to the stairs.

Once we were in Blitz's room and had drank the amount of water his mom was satisfied with, we were homefree. "That was awesome!" Blitz was laughing his ass off. "We're not grounded until after Hearthswarming. I can't believe how calm she was."

I had to admit, I was a little surprised too, and I smiled. However, "That was calm?"

Blitz rolled back on his bed, kicking his legs in the air with a high amount of energy, "Yeah, for her it kinda was. Must be the bourbon."

"Everypony did get pretty drunk tonight." I laughed and fell into the bed next to him. He looked at me and I looked at him. "I admit…I had fun…"

"Me too…" he breathed and I felt his breath on my nose. His nose booped mine…"Sparky?"

I kissed him…hoping I would black all this out. "Happy holidays Blitzy." I blushed.

"Happy holidays," he said and fell asleep.

 _(Footnote: So that was a cute little holiday chapter for everypony! I hope it was as enjoyable to read as it was to write. I loved giving more insight on Nexus' personality and finally revealing that he did NOT, in fact, kill his stepstallion. Instead everything that transpired only served to make Nexus even more depressed than he already was. The drinking helped a little, and now we can see why Blitzfire isn't a drinker in the present. Blitz has a high anxiety level and when he loses control of his reality, he gets very stressed. Good thing he had Capper. It is sad that his mom isn't around, but neither was Nexy's in the past. There's so many things that Blitz could connect with and keeping this orb will be a good thing for the future. This Intermission ties in way better to the actual story as it takes place during Chapter 17 and not outside of it. I look forward to posting the next chapter soon! Love you guys!)_

 **Brohoof /)**


	19. Chapter 17 Broken Hearted

**Chapter 17** Broken Hearted

Pulling into the station just outside Sanctuary, the platform was alive with the hustle and bustle with its new arrivals. Pumpkin bounced happily out of the train and down the platform stairs, humming a holiday tune I feel I'd heard somewhere. Orange Juice followed her, also bouncing along. Wonder was third, carrying a few things in a wine red magical aura that seemed to be attached to the bangle anklets around his forelegs.

Guardian was next, having had help from Ashe Erza to strap some cases to his back, and in turn, she had also gotten a few cases strapped to her back too. She followed the Guardian. Combat Zone and Cherry followed them, Cherry balancing in one hoof a few items and the former ignoring supplies altogether. He was so rude! Lily was carrying the last of it. I checked myself before getting off the train, making sure I had all my weapons and my satchel. Capper didn't even have to think about it because his inventory seemed to be in that giant ass trenchcoat of his. It was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside in my opinion. I wish my vest did that.

I made sure my revolver and all my memory spheres were with me and hopped off the train onto the platform. I decided to skip the stairs and just jump off the platform, landing smoothly a few feet below, kicking up some dust. Capper was behind me, copycatting my notion, landing beside me. "Hey babe," I smiled and kissed him. He kissed me back.

Press was at his workbench at the Community Home. "Ohhh, look who's back!" he came in for a hug which took me off guard. He also hugged Orange Juice who was more than happy to receive it. Mama Madmaer was in a rocking chair near the workbench and behind her a power armor station with a suit of light power armor was visible. It appeared to be a heavily modded, versatile piece of hardware.

"I take it you all had no trouble taking the castle. Ten of you should've done nicely," he was all smiles.

"Some of us stayed behind to guard Griffonstone Station, but yes, we cleared out the Lurkers and killed the Queen." Buck filled him in.

"Good, that's what I heard on the radio too, I just wanted to hear it straight from the horse's mouth." he winked, tipping his hat.

"May we negotiate terms of alliance now?" Ashe Erza bucked up to him.

Press nodded, "That sounds like an excellent idea. If you would follow me into the Community Home…" Buck and Erza followed him, the rest of the group dispersed for now.

"Blitzfire," said Lily before wandering off, "I have to speak with Buck here soon, but I will not be accompanying anypony further into the Wastes. My job is much too important back at the Fort and I must return to my post."

"Understandable, aren't you a doctor?"

"Cheif of Medicine, actually; but yes, I am a doctor." she nodded.

I asked, "Is Cher staying?"

"He's the ordnance officer on the base, but has somepony filling in his post while he's away. I've discussed it with him and he's comfortable staying with the group." she looked up toward the sky outside the roofed porch. "He said he's fine with his active ordnance replacement until he returns and wants in on the action here." she rolled her eyes. "Pumpkin asked me to stay for a party, but after that, I'll be gone."

"A party, hmm?" Capper's interest was peaked.

"I've heard of such a party," came a croaky voice from nearby. It was Mama in her chair. She was woken up and had been busily eavesdropping on us.

Lily moved away from us as I went to speak with Mama. "What do you mean?"

"Do you have any Malice, I would like to try half, to get a better understanding of what the Sight is trying to tell me." she was staring at my satchel.

"What do you think Capper?" I looked up to my tomfriend's green glowing eyes.

"Press did say she's an addict but left it up to us. He might not like it so we don't got much time to dwell on the answer," he told me, sounding pretty helpful anyway.

"I'll decide if I'm an addict or not, thank you very much." she crossed her hooves.

"Fine, but only half," I told her. "I only have a few vials left."

"Yes, I have seen that you will need them." when she stuck herself with the needle, her eyes rolled up a little. Then she closed them and handed me the half full vial. "Yes! A party in a gem. A party, seemingly filled with darkness. It's so dark here I cannot find what I'm looking for. A place called…I'm not sure, third base maybe? Oh! He's horrendous, he's terrible!" her eyelids were fluttering as she rode the high. "He wants to kill you all, be very suspicious of a blue stranger…My goodness who…? YOU MUST HAVE SYMPATHY OR YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS WILL FAIL. GO NOW! GO! To the Everfree Forest, a hidden secret awaits you…" she opened her eyes and snorted, "That's all I can see for now. Do you have Sympathy?"

I creased my eyebrows, "I feel like I have sympathy for my friends, is that what you mean?" she just shook her head.

"Okay, it's settled then?" came Guardian's voice as the trio emerged from the house. I saw a fourth behind them, Melody. She waved at me and I waved back.

"Melody here was just telling us she saw a strange pony she'd never seen before in Double Diamond City. Press told me you've been there before?" Buck was addressing me.

"What strange pony?" I asked her.

"A blue pony with an even darker blue mane. He claims to be from Double Diamond City but I had never seen him before in my life." Melody was shaking her head as she continued walking. "I hope my info was helpful but I gotta get going again!" she headed off.

I looked over to Mama Madmare who had warned of a pony matching that description. She also asked if I had any Sympathy which I now assumed was a drug I'd never heard of. It made sense, if she wanted me to go to a hidden place in Everfree, maybe I had to make Sympathy. I really hoped I didn't have to go there, and what if OJ wanted to come!

"So, it's settled, we're all coming with me to Everfree?"

Combat was approaching, "From what I hear, we're gonna have to. If that pony is who I think he is then there's a huge problem, but I'll need to see for my own eyes."

"Double Diamond City it is." Buck nodded.

"Then to the train!" yelled the Colonel, from somewhere a sword had appeared and she was pointing it at the sky. Then it disappeared and she marched on.

* * *

Double Diamond City was its usual lively with normal traffic and activity in its residential township. We all regrouped at the bar where Piper tried to give me a warning. She slid into the table I was sitting at in Third Peak, possibly the third base Mama had mentioned as it was the third base, or rather peak, from the top.

Piper had stopped in the center of the room and looked around desperately as though searching for somepony. When her eyes locked on mine, she galloped my way.

I was harboring a hard cider that I was barely touching. I was planning on keeping my drinking down to a minimum. I perked to attention when Piper arrived at my table and took a seat across from me.

"Whatcha doing all the way over here by yourself?" she asked.

"The party has barely started," I took a tentative sip of my cider.

She looked around, "Well, if ya ask me, that's a good thing. I don't see that blue party pony about anywhere."

My ears shot up at the mention of the nameless blue pony who had caught my suspicions. "What about him?"

"Ah, I can see you're suspicious too. I'm glad." she gave another cursory glance around the bar, making sure of something before continuing. "He came back with Double Diamond and I, but I didn't get to see where he came from. DD refused to let me come with him into the train station Party Favor came from."

"He didn't?" I narrowed my eyes, growing more concerned.

"No! He had me stake lookout to make sure none of "Combat's" raiders showed up. I don't know who Combat is, but it sounded crazy, raider's ain't been in Bittsberg for almost a whole year now!" Piper slammed both hooves down on the table. "And now they're both missing!" the party was underway and she had to go for now, but she promised to return later.

Later, as I lowered the green memory orb, I noticed Capper had fallen asleep on my shoulder. He hadn't seen Nexus kiss me thank Faust. I hadn't even known the colt had pecked me on the lips that night! I was either too drunk to remember, or the alcohol had caused us to both black it out. _I'm definitely never losing this orb,_ I thought as I stuffed it back into my satchel in the memory pouch, _don't need anypony seeing that._

Piper came galloping in from outside, where an unexpected snowstorm was raging. "He's back and it's not good!" she shouted above the noise of the wind. The wind was so loud it even drowned out the music coming from the speakers. Pumpkin turned off the music and the record made a scratching sound.

"What's going on?" she galloped up. Our group noticed the commotion at the door.

"Party Favor has lost his damn mind is what up! And dark shawled ponies who seem resistant to the warm temperature have appeared out of nowhere. There's snow that shouldn't be here and Faust what else do I have to say?!" Piper was out of breath. "Chef!" she called and galloped toward the bar, "It's hard to breathe out there, we need to use this place as shelter!" Chef was nodding and he and Piper went to help ponies through the door.

"That's not snow," said Combat Zone with a grimace.

"It's ash…" said Buck in slow tones.

"What's ash doing here on the mountain?" asked OJ, then his eyes lit up in fear. I was looking between everypony not sure what was happening.

"Circle of Ash has returned!" Erza proclaimed, "and he's brought his ashlings to Broncston." her voice was downtrodden but her expression was hardy.

"Buck, what do we do?" Cherry was cocking a gun and pointing it at the door, where Piper was helping ponies in.

"Somepony tell that newsmare not to let in any ponies wearing gray cloaks!" Buck yelled.

"Piper!" I shouted and she looked up at me. "Gray cloaks are bad!"

"But I've already let in—" a pony in one such cloak, this one dark black and tattered at the bottom, punched her suddenly in the face and she was knocked out in a second flat.

That same pony lowered his hood, revealing himself to be Party Favor, except now instead of blue eyes, his eyes were glowing a deep red, permeating the growing darkness of the room. A darkness so thick it seemed to suck the light straight from the room. "Now the real party can begin!" he was laughing maniacally and his high pitched voice still sounded the same.

Behind him came in the mayor, Double Diamond himself. Piper was just now coming to, and she rubbed her temples. "Oh DD, thank the sisters you're here. Somepony needs to tell this dolt to leave, he just punched me in the fucking face!"

"Oh, but you my dude are greatly mistaken as to my purpose here. I own this town and I take orders from nopony!" Double Diamond had similar glowing white eyes. The glow seemed to be coming off of Party Favor's horn from his red colored magic, transitioning to white partway through.

"Circle of Ash," hissed Combat through gritted teeth, staring firmly in Party's direction.

"But which witch is which?" asked Pumpkin Spice.

"We are both Circle of Ash!" yelled both the white earth stallion and blue unicorn stallion at the same time.

"You only recognize the one, because I am your dear friend, Combat…I am Party Favor, and it's nice to finally meet you." he was smiling a sinister grin.

Double Diamond addressed us too, "We are two halves of one whole, I'm the sun to his moon. Thank you, Piper, for allowing me the opportunity to complete the ritual he started through his astral projection." Piper was cowering, trying to get as far from their evil magic as possible.

"For Faust's sake, there's two of them?" Wonder groaned. "As if one wasn't enough!"

"Just more of him for me to kill!" said Erza, wearing a completely different outfit now, actually in full blast shining metal armor and she had a shortsword that matched it. Where in tartarus…? Now I saw her prominent horn, poking out from the silver plating of her helmet. She appeared to be a very powerful unicorn.

"I knew I didn't like you," spat Piper from the floor, slowly trying to get up. Party pushed her back down.

"You will all submit to the will of our ashlings and darklings, or you will all die trying to resist."

"It is better to resist darkness than to do nothing at all!" Erza yelled and charged them. As she swiped her blade both ponies disappeared in swirling black smoke and what was left in their place was the sound of echoing laughter and two empty cloaks that billowed to the floor. Ash blew in from outside like snow.

"You'll need better magic than that to defeat us and it appears you only have 2 unicorns in your midst," came the echoing call of Double Diamond and Party Favor speaking as one. The door slammed shut. "Have fun with my darklings," said just Party Favor. The room went completely dark and everypony was silent. Then on the tip of Erza's horn came a light. Orange Juice lit his horn as well. I saw Piper dart to the back, where all the trapped civilians were now hiding with Chef. It was our ten against whatever was going on now.

Guardian activated the light on his suit and then I saw them. At least 5 if not more. Creepy as wraith looking ponies, all wearing similar black cloaks to Party Favor, tattered at the frays, unlike the gray clean cut cloak Diamond had been wearing. I didn't like the looks of this.

"Guys, I don't like this," came a whimper from Orange Juice. I would lay my life down for that colt, and I got in front of him, where Wonder joined me.

"I have a drug that gives the user a sense of magic, if magic really is required to fight these guys, we may need it. But I only have enough for 4 ponies and I need to save some for future battles!" I whispered low trying to make sure the darklings didn't hear me. They hadn't moved, they just appeared to be watching us and sucking up the light in the room, and since the light source was magical, it did not end. I hoped that wasn't a bad thing, but by the way they were feeding off it, it quite possibly was a bad idea to have lit horns and flashlights. There was just no way of knowing.

"I say we just shoot them in the face," Cherry pumped a double-barrel shotgun. He aimed and fired at one, the gun exploding in fiery light and the shell hitting its target. The second the pellets from the shell dispersed, the darkling exploded in a burst of enormous white light energy and it nearly blinded me. I had to lift a hoof to shade my eyes for it hurt that much to look at! "Okay so bad idea…" the darkling then reformed and continued to do exactly what it was doing before.

"They're eatin' the light!" Lily gasped. "I ain't never seen such creatures!"

"Neither have I," stated the Guardian. "They seem different from the ashlings, almost ghostlike."

"How do we stop them?" asked Orange Juice.

Erza stepped forward, a black sword held high, "By using magic of course. I call upon the aid of a thousand moons! Moon Song Blade, come to me!" the blade in her hoof shined a brilliant white for a moment before looking like darkness incarnate itself. It appeared to be an evil weapon, but in the right hooves, good could be done.

"What are us non magical ponies supposed to do?" Cherry was backing away from a slowly approaching darkling. Its eyes glowed white and it did not look friendly. It appeared as though it was preparing to attack.

I patted my satchel, realizing the many needles of Malice were still in there. I also had 12 batches of Steadfast. I had enough chems to help at least 6 ponies two times, but something in me knew we would need to save as much of it as possible. "Um guys, not to throw out crazy ideas, but I have a drug that may or may not give its user magical abilities, regardless of race."

"Well…" said Lily, "if y'all could tell us what it was, I may be able to approve some per'scriptions."

"Unfortunately, coming from a doctor's point of view, a raider drug may be considered illegal. However, I have notes dictating that combining it with over the counter Steadfast would make it safe for consumption and possible use in combat." I told her. I saw more and more of the white eyed darklings coming toward us.

"We don't have much time, just show us how the darn thing works!" Lily appeared to be sweating under pressure.

I stuck myself with a Malice needle, then popped a Steadfast tablet. My entire EFS shifted focus and a new bar was added next to my HP bar. I felt fast, and steady all at once. It was a hard feeling to describe as it almost seemed like time had completely slowed down. It was like I had the option to use S.A.T.S. through a Pip-Buck function without the actual Pip-Buck device present. I didn't have S.A.T.S. because without a Pip-Buck, my EFS was primitive, a leftover piece of arcane science from my time in the Power Armor. Suddenly now I did, and with an MP bar I seemed to have control over newfound magical abilities. What I could do, I did not know.

I stomped a hoof and a flash of light hit the nearest darkling. It seemed to just absorb the magic. "Okay, so they're immune to Light Magic!" I yelled and began passing out Malice and Steadfast as quickly as possible.

"I imagine they are also immune to dark mana as well," said Erza who tossed her sword into the air, "Requip! Flaming Phoenix!" her black sword changed into a red sword, flames swirling around the blade. Her armor remained unchanged, just a silver shining metal.

"I don't have enough for everypony, so non-magic users only." I told them. I skipped Capper, Wonder and OJ, for they all had magic. Erza was defending our position, having blasted the tables in the main room out of the way and setting up a blockade behind another few. I gave some Malice and Steadfast to Lily, Cherry, Buck and Combat; Pumpkin said she had some enchanted items with her she could use instead. So I was left with 6 and a half batches of Malice and 8 Steadfast, items I planned to save for later.

"Okay, let's bucking do this!" yelled Pumpkin, who was the first to jump over the barricade and follow Ashe into battle. She had her cherry bombs, which contained fire arcana. Erza had left a couple magic swords here, to better channel our newfound abilities. Everypony was a little uneasy, but the Steadfast kept us level headed. Wonder decided it'd be best if he stuck by Orange's side, and I agreed, following the two of them into combat.

"Wonder, can you help me channel this? I don't know how to use magic the way you do!" I called to him as I stomped a hoof and sent a burst of blue colored magic at a nearby wraith. That's what my EFS labelled them as anyway.

"Sure thing!" he yelled and lifted a hoof, a wine red orb appearing there. The magic appeared to match his eyes. "You're gonna wanna find your niche," he called, tossing the ball of energy at a couple wraiths, where the magic split and hit both of them. There came a shrieking sound as they dispersed into shadows.

"My niche?" I asked, stomping an orange blast at another of the darklings. It felt way easier to do than any other color I had chosen.

"Look for something about yourself that makes sense!" he told me, sending a ball of white energy toward an approaching enemy. It was absorbed into it, "Okay, so you're right, that doesn't seem to work."

I sent a burst of orange at it, killing it on contact. "You mean…like whatever this orange magic is?"

"It's fire magic and yes! You have orange on your cutie mark. Your name is Blitzfire, so fire some blitz at it!"

"That doesn't make sense but I'll try." I concentrated on the energy, focusing it into more of a beam shape. What appeared to me as the magic formed was the glowing orange shapes of many bullets, or blitz in my opinion.

"Talking helps," Wonder groaned as he strained under the pressure of using his red magic to defend me.

"Blitz…Fire!" the bullets reared up in front of me on the command "Blitz" and glowed an extreme orange as they shot out like bullets. Actual bursts of fire hit on contact with the bullets and I realized I just needed to pretend I was firing a gun. I aimed and focused the magic down into more of a blitz pattern, spread out and able to hit multiple targets at once. I used my new Blitzfire spell over and over, getting the hang of it.

"You also have red, white and black in your cutie mark, so maybe experiment with red magic?" Wonder said as he began to veer off, heading towards OJ.

"Okay, thanks for the heads up!" I nodded and let him go. Time to let loose and kill some sons of bitches. The full effects of Malice were now kicking in.

* * *

Capper Dapperpaws

I spun and dodged as more and more darklings came at me. Some even began to take the forms of catlords in order to fight me. I let my paws glow purple as Cheshire assisted me, lending his own magic and fighting the creatures one on one himself. "This is delightful!" he cheered as he punched the monsters and killed them rather quickly with his furious purple energy.

"You're telling me!" I laughed, punching an enemy of my own. They dissipated like smoke, dying on contact with Cheshire's powerful energy. "What are you, some kind of savant?"

"I'm whatever you will me to be and all that comes in between." he snickered as he killed another catlord shaped wraith. I was calling them wraith because they acted as ghosts, especially when they died. There was no physical body left behind. I'd never seen anything like it out in the wild wild wastes of Broncston.

"Whatever that means." I rolled my eyes as I fire punched a darkling that got too close. Sometimes it was like that cat spoke in gibberish.

Finally it was as though we finished off the last of the darklings. Just when we thought it was safe to get the ponies in the back to evacuate, the front door burst open, sending in a swirl of snow-like ash. A few ponies in gray neatly-trimmed cloaks filed in. "Ashlings!" I heard somepony with a higher pitched voice shout, possibly the Orange one.

"What in the hell are ashlings?" I asked, looking around the room at the large group.

"They are a disgrace to Equestria," said the Colonel.

"It would seem to be a corporeal wight!" Cheshire called, referring to the ashlings in comparison to the darklings, backing away from them slowly. He had lost his grin, for once, and was instead hissing and baring his claws. He had no power to attack them.

"You all made a grave mistake." came the eerily low voice of one ashling.

"It is time to kill or be killed," said another.

"Be at the mercy of us all," said the last, all their voices chilling and cold.

In unison, "We are the Triplets Three, and our meeting shall be your last."

"Well they certainly aren't Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb, but they are dull if they think all of us can't undertake the task of all of them." Cheshire had disappeared from view and his grin had returned, showing in midair. Then his tail flicked, swooshing and causing him to reappear in a different place across the room, far from the ashlings, leaving me stranded and with a weaker connection to his magic.

"I take resentment to being called dull, cat." said the first, taking a step forward and dropping his hood to reveal a long sharp horn.

"I can show you we are anything but," said the second, lifting a hoof to her hood and beginning to lower it.

"The power of three will destroy thee." said the last, who was lowering her hood as well.

Lady Ashe stepped forward, "No one has called you a thing! Now kindly take your leave, because I won't speak again."

"Neither will we!" they all shouted and with the drop of their hoods and revealing only two had horns, the mare in the middle was without, a strange magic began to form between the two unicorns and above the head of the middle mare. "We don't take kindly to insults." said the stallion. The mare in the middle had her eyes closed and was murmuring to herself then she began to float and putting her front hooves together, her eyes opened and her eyes were glowing white. "The summoning gate is opening." she spoke for everypony to hear.

"Stop them!" shouted the Guardian and the sounds of gunfire were heard coming from Cherry.

"This oughta shut them up!" he was yelling, waving a semi-auto and pumping the trigger. On the contrary, the bullets only bounced off an invisible shield.

Ashe Erza growled, "I call upon my Vorpal Sword, to slice away any barriers that bar my way and to fell the enemies before me. Requip!" Her flaming sword disappeared and in its place was a long, black and red sword.

 _"She took her Vorpal Sword in hoof;_

 _Long time the manxome foe he sought—_

 _So rested they by the Tumtum tree_

 _And stood awhile in thought."_

Cheshire was disappearing and reappearing all over the place, first by Lady Ashe when she mentioned her vorpal sword; appearing to be lying down on his side in the air above her, tail flicking—then by Combat Zone when he mentioned the manxome foe; standing by his side, then by Orange Juice and the Guardian when he mentioned the Tumtum tree. Lastly he returned to me, as though the whole poem was meant for me and was not complete. How I knew that, I didn't understand, but the words were nonsense to my tall kitty-cat ears.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

Across the room, closest to Capper was the enemy and all over the place it appeared that Cheshire was floating around and singing some song that all of us could hear. The Malice must be making it possible to see and hear him but it was beginning to wear off because the purple Cait Sith was disappearing and reappearing randomly.

I think we all heard him singing, especially those of us hopped up on Malice. Unfortunately our drugs were beginning to wear off. The good thing was, was that there was no longer any darklings to worry about, however, more ashlings could be seen outside. "Somepony needs to get outside!" I yelled as everypony jumped into attack mode. We were done being on the defensive.

I saw the Guardian and OJ rushing forward, alongside Wonder. The three ponies pushed their advantage on the Triplets, attempting to stop them from summoning whatever was about to come out of that giant black and white orb. The orb dissipated before anything could happen and the three ashlings became even more pissed off. However, the Guardian was able to get himself, OJ, Wonder and Pumpkin Spice out of the bar. I saw Capper slip out with Pumpkin, and I was left to fight alongside Combat Zone, Lily, Cherry and Ashe Erza to defend the ponies hiding in the back.

"We liked hearing about the Tumtum tree," said the stallion.

"But we don't like hearing it from your demented cat friend," said the earth mare.

The unicorn mare spoke up, "We'll kill you and take the 6 Tumtum berries for ourselves."

"What in Equestria are Tumtums?" I asked aloud.

"They must be referring to the Tree of Harmony and its 6 magical gemstones," called the Colonel. "Those Tumtums are not yours for the taking!" she yelled at the Triplets. "They must be awarded."

Tumtum berries in reference to the 6 stones only kind of made sense. _But_ , I thought, _if Celestia herself had to dub Harmony bearers and they can't be stolen as Erza says, then the Triplets must be meaning some sort of drug._ Malice! Of course they meant Malice. Any outlaw worth their salt liked to get their hooves on powerful drugs. Malice combined with Steadfast had the capabilities of bestowing magical properties on their users, so it must somehow be connected to the Tree of Harmony. I wondered, what was that secret ingredient in Sparkle-Cola X? Perhaps this Tumtum stuff was one of the ingredients. "Guys, if we don't use magic here we won't win!" I yelled to my group.

"You!" snarled the earth mare. "You are the cause of all our problems." she connected hooves with her two companions on either side of her and I saw an unavoidable magical orb come flying toward me. Somepony yelled then I blacked out.

* * *

Orange Juice

Those ashlings in the bar were pretty scary, so I was glad I was following Buck outside. Buck's helmet gave him a protective layer and a better breathing apparatus but I was left coughing in the dust. I saw everypony stop, noticing that the kitty-cat guy had come with us too. "Here, I have a gas mask! Or a few!" Pumpkin started passing out gas masks to everypony who needed one, and Capper was happy to accept. She put on her own gas mask, and pulled her goggles down to shield her eyes from the ash falling from the sky.

"Where's it coming from?" asked Wonder, his eyes looking upward to the tallest peak.

Capper pointed, "It looks like it's coming off the Broncston Commons."

"Starlight's old cave?" asked Pumpkin.

"You got that right," Capper finger gunned her. I wished I could make hand-signs like that. All I had were these orange hooves.

"It looks like we need to get to the tallest peak and take a look inside those Commons." said Buck, hoofing it forward. We all followed, now that we were able to breathe better.

"We've gotta be careful, OJ," said Wonder, keeping pace with me. "If there are ashlings attacking the township, then who knows what lies in wait for us in the caves."

"Up there is Secret Stable," said Capper. "I would know, Blitz and I opened it up a little over a month ago."

"You guys did what?" Pumpkin Spice gasped.

"You two opened a Secret Stable, not knowing what was inside at all, and didn't expect there to be consequences?" asked Buck, incredulous.

"Well, alls we knew was the mayor resided inside. We didn't know the mayor was an evil psychopath."

You have discovered

Broncston Commons

Popped up on my Pip-Buck and on my EFS's upper left corner. The Commons were in fact a giant hidden Stable in the mountainside, as I recognized a big Stable gear door when I saw one. I drew in a sharp breath, nearly choking as the gas mask couldn't handle that much ash at once. The gear was wide open and the ash was coming from inside. "They must be doing another wacko ritual in there," Pumpkin commented as we all ducked inside.

Here the air was much colder, as it should feel out on the snow capped mountains. The ash was like a style of terraforming in a way, the wasteland becoming worse and worse as the ash rained like snow outside. "We have to find the source of all that ash!" the Guardian shouted over the loud sound of billowing wind. There was a heavy outgoing draft in here, shoving the thick ash outside.

Capper shouted too, "Everypony better cover their eyes. Faust, this ain't gonna be good for my fur."

The further we ventured the thicker the ash got until out of nowhere my Geiger Counter began clicking. I jumped at the sound, growing more and more anxious. I already didn't like being in another Stable, now there was residual arcana radiation too? "Um, guys, not to alarm anypony but my Pip-Buck is starting to go crazy and I don't like it."

"Don't worry, OJ, the levels are as of yet harmless. Although, that confirms a magical ritual is being done," the Guardian was muttering to himself.

We came to a place where the tunnels diverged. "Looks like we'll need to split up if we're gonna find the ritual chamber." said Pumpkin.

"Not to worry, folks!" Capper was tugging on his trenchcoat sleeve with a mischievous look in his glowing green eyes. "I got a trick or two up my sleeve. Besides all that, I've already been here before." he bragged. "If you'll allow me to lead the way, I'm the friend you need."

"Friendship never changes!" Pumpkin Spice called out a saying I'd come to learn was positive wartime propaganda from the Princess of Friendship Pre-War.

Capper led the way down the tunnel on the left, and when we all arrived we found that he had been right. A ritual was being done and it looked to be just about complete. Double Diamond was standing in front of a couple pods big enough to fit a single pony each, and he was talking to somepony residing inside one of them. "Pone, I've done it! I've finally freed you from your stasis, my dude! Those donkeys in Bittsberg had no idea what magic they were messing with."

"I don't appreciate being called donkey." the Guardian entered the room and stomped a metal clad hoof against the metal plated floor.

"By the sisters!" Party Favor was shakily exiting his pod, his eyes a nice blue color instead of that scary red.

"This ends now, Circle of Ash," the Guardian snapped.

"No! You don't understand!" Double Diamond was protesting. The Guardian lifted a gun to fire.

"Please, let us explain!" Party had a hoof up in surrender, as did Double Diamond.

"We had to do what we did, there was no other choice!" Double Diamond was crying.

"We were dying and the sisters never came back to save us!" Party moaned. "Please, we're telling you the truth. We aren't Circle of Ash!"

I stepped forward, gripping the Guardians hoof and making him lower his gun, "Buck, I don't think this is Circle. Wherever Circle is, they are not him, or don't you think they'd have attacked us by now?"

"You remind me how much you've matured every single day, OJ." the Guardian holstered his weapon. "Mind explaining to me why there are ashlings and darklings running around Double Diamond City?"

"It wasn't our fault!" Party Favor gasped.

"Dude, listen," began DD, "when the sisters didn't return to awaken us we had to take matters into our own hooves. We had no alicorn magic."

"For the past 200 years I've been reaching out through astral projection to try and find a magic capable of saving us!" Party said, jumping up and looking much healthier and much nicer than the creepy version of himself back at the bar. "When my magic touched Combat and became one with a group of raiders, my astral self became evil. Double Diamond here has been working tirelessly for the past 20 or so odd years to keep my true self from turning along with him."

"Circle of Ash was nothing more than a magical projection!" Double cried.

"What do you mean, 'was'?" asked Capper, making air quotes with his paws.

"Well…our astral selves only just became corporeal and it started when Blitz unsealed the Stable. None of that magic was capable of leaving until the Commons were opened." Diamond said. "Why do you think we keep this Stable sealed?"

"Why were you playing with dark magic in the first place?!" Wonder stomped a hoof with an angry expression on his face.

"There was no other way…once it became evil, there was no controlling it. Circle of Ash became his own entity." Party looked down toward the floor, looking ashamed of himself.

"Waking me up was a good first step but it allowed Circle to take two corporeal forms instead of just one!" DD explained.

"Well then we have a huge problem on our hooves. Do either of you know where either of…you are?" asked Buck.

"No, they're completely independent now. They have bodies and magic of their own. They'll look exactly like us but their eyes are red and white instead of dark blue and light blue, respectively." said Party.

"I am the true mayor of Double Diamond City, pone, and I never intended for any of this to happen." said Diamond in that fun beach bum accent of his.

"We need to find the summoning gate and try to shut it down!" Party gasped. "Either that or activate the permanent emergency lockdown protocols and get the buck out of here before the gear slides to a permanent seal."

"Is that where all the ash is coming from?" asked Pumpkin Spice.

"It's a Projection Gate," explained Party, "It's a type of summoning gate that makes a sort of portal between two points in the corporeal world, allowing for fast travel between destinations."

"That sounds like it could be useful. If we seal this Stable, can you make a better gate for us to travel throughout Broncston?" asked the Guardian, looking between the two ponies.

"My lover can do anything, dude!" DD beamed, hugging a hoof around his coltfriend's shoulders. "Why do you think he was appointed my Secretary of Arcane Arts?"

"Oh, okay, babe, don't get ahead of ourselves, you never even introduced your city to me because of Circle. Everypony thinks we're evil masterminds."

"We'll just have to prove them wrong then!" I smiled at them, happy that they weren't evil after all.

"I think I'll tell Piper the good news!" Pumpkin bounced off down the tunnel.

"Let's seal this Stable and get the buck out of here." DD was at the control panel.

"EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED. LOCKDOWN CODE DD#1 ACCEPTED. ENGAGING SAFETY LOCKS NOW. COUNTDOWN TO TOTAL LOCKDOWN IN T-MINUS 1 MINUTE." came a computerized mare's voice from the Stable speaker systems.

"I'll set a self destruct too," added Party, heading to the controls and pressing buttons with his blue magical aura.

"SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ENGAGED. SELF DESTRUCT CODE PF#2 ACCEPTED. ACTIVATING SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE NOW. COUNTDOWN TO SELF DESTRUCT IN T-MINUS 2 MINUTES."

"That sounds like our que to leave." Wonder grabbed my hoof and pulled me out the door. "Come on, OJ."

We all ran at full speed to catch up with Pumpkin Spice, who seemed to have not a care in the world even in the face of a 1 minute lockdown and 2 minute self destruct. She just bounced along at normal pace until the Guardian grabbed her scarf and yanked a little, "Come on Pumpkin, didn't you hear the alerts?"

"Oh I did, I was just waiting for you guys to come along." she beamed at me and kept speed with us.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

When I came to, it was revealed to me that the Triplets had been defeated and everypony was slowly emerging from the back. "Well that was one event I don't think we'll be having for another long while," said Chef as he returned to his bar.

"There's nothing we can do about what just happened." said Combat Zone, "Circle of Ash is a bastard that needs to be put down."

"Now that there's two of them, I think it's even more dire we find and eliminate them." said the Colonel.

OJ and crew were just returning and all the lights in the bar were back up. "I can't believe they interrupted my party like that," Pumpkin was saying to somepony beside her. "Now we'll never get back on track." the mayor came in with her! All weapons in the room trained on him. Party Favor was right behind her.

"Wait!" yelled the Guardian, who headed the group. "Ashe, the true Circle of Ash colts have left the city. These are the innocent Mayor and Secretary of Arcane Arts."

"Very well, everypony lower your weapons." the Colonel called to the group.

"How do we know they aren't lying?" I narrowed my eyes.

I saw Piper emerge from the back. "I have the same concerns," she said as she eyed DD and Party. "That guy punched me in the face.

"I'm sorry for whatever Circle of Ash may have done to you." Party told her.

"So wait, you're saying Circle of Ash is a different pony that looks exactly like you?" asked Piper, narrowing her eyes in confusion.

"That's right!" Pumpkin Spice bounced forward, "Let me try to explain." she dragged Piper off.

"They're not lying to you!" the Guardian called to the wary citizens, "The problem was taken care of by them. They set the Stable to blow so no more ashlings can come through and terrorize this town."

"That sounds pretty honorable to me," said Ashe Erza.

"We're even going to begin helping the ponies of Equestria by setting up safe checkpoints throughout the world." Party announced. "As Secretary of Arcane Arts, I have the capability to form a fast travel portal between safe settlements. Our first point of contact will be between Double Diamond City and the Minute Hoof Sanctuary."

"I don't want none of that magic mumbo jumbo stuff in my bar," said Chef.

"Don't worry, the contact point is already established in Our Town," said DD. "Everypony can feel safe and assured that somepony will stay here to guard the gate."

"I think I'd like to be that pony," spoke Cherry Blossom. "Until the Minute Hooves send backup at least."

"I just need to travel with this group of Fort ponies to set up a contact point in Sanctuary, and then hopefully in Bittsberg as well. The Minute Hooves sound like they don't like to travel too far from home." said Party.

"I can take y'all to the East Gate Outpost and the Fort once we create a gate in Sanctuary," said Lily.

"You're really going home, sis?" asked Cherry.

"I ain't gon' be stayin' here if that's what you mean. I got more work to do back home." said Lily Bloom.

"I will be staying here," said Double Diamond. "I have a mission to protect this town," he told us, then made eye contact with Cherry, "If you're staying here until the Minute Hooves send backup through the gate, then I would greatly appreciate the assistance in clearing Our Town of ashlings."

"Don't forget the darklings," Wonder said, rolling his eyes. "I just can't believe the amount of dark magic filtering into the town from the Stable."

"There won't be much we can do about that unless there's alicorn magic around."

"I don't know much about that, but we did do a mighty fine job on kicking their asses when we used Malice." said Capper. All eyes were on me now.

"Oh, you guys are asking me?"

"Well it was you who done gave us the medicine, now wasn't it?" Lily asked in her thick country accent.

"Yeah, but…" I could see these ponies weren't going to take no for an answer. "Malice is unrefined and dangerous. We'd have to go to a secret lab in Everfree if we wanted to come back and use it safely in Broncston."

"Then it sounds like we need to talk to the Minute Hooves." said Party Favor.

"Hold on, Everfree is on the edge of Ponyville. That place is a deathtrap!" the Guardian was biting his lip.

"But we're north of all that, aren't we?" asked OJ.

"Yeah, he's right, we could just sneak in over the mountains from Hollow Shade," said Wonder.

"Those mountains are unsurpassable," said Ashe. "I would know, I once tried to scale them before I found myself in Bittsberg."

"We have to get there somehow!" said OJ. "If alicorn magic is the only magic capable of stopping the darklings then how do we stop them without it?"

"Once again, OJ is right." the Guardian sighed. "Alright, for now we go to Sanctuary and regroup. Then we talk about Everfree." It was settled. With that, we went to the DDC train station, taking Party with us and leaving Cherry and the mayor behind.

 _(Footnote: How do you like the way I related the Jabberwocky poem to the story? It doesn't just relate now, but in a later chapter too! What do you think the Tumtum tree may be? I'm really loving creating more about this Cheshire character every time he pops up. I also hope you like the way I differentiate between the true Double Diamond and Party Favor and their evil twins. You'll learn more about what they really are in later chapters. For now, I can't wait to get going to Chapter 18.)_

 **Brohoof! /)**


	20. Chapter 18 Nighttime Routine

**Chapter 18** Nighttime Routine

We had arrived in Sanctuary and had filled Press in on the details of our battle with the new Circle of Ash back in Double Diamond City. He was pretty open to setting up fast travel gates all around Equestria, especially in Broncston. He loved the idea of being able to get to each Minute Hoof protected settlement faster. Now that Party was here, he was able to make an alliance with Double Diamond City too. Now the Fort, Minute Hooves and DD were all aligned as one big group working to better Equestria.

"Yeah, I can send some Minute Hooves with Lily Bloom and Party to set up another checkpoint and hopefully we can work together to rid Equestria of these ashlings."

"Don't forget the darklings!" Pumpkin Spice bounced up out of nowhere as she tended to do.

Now that that was settled, it was time to get underway. I wanted to ask Mama Madmare one last thing before our group parted ways with the Sanctuary Minute Hooves. I told my group I'd be one minute and I went to talk to her. "Mama, I have a question."

"I know dear," she beamed proudly at me.

"I get you're addicted to chems, but I also get it's for a good reason. What can you tell me about Malice?"

"What I know of Malice is what the visions have told me. I think you already know the answer." she didn't look up from her knitting.

"I don't think I fully understand." I said.

She paused and looked up at me, her eyes sparkling with wisdom, "My colt, if you don't try to find the answers on your own, then nopony can truly ever help you." then she sighed, "You still have that half dose of Malice?"

"Yeah, I never used it." I replied.

"Then give it here. It won't work as well because I've already tried Malice, but it'll help." she took it from me. "Ah, yes, I see clearly now. Everfree is where you must go. There you will find true Sympathy."

"Is Sympathy some sort of drug?" I inquired.

She opened her eyes, "That is for you to find out, but I can tell you, magic runs deep in that forest and darkness will follow. The Circle and the Moon have already begun their journey there and are a day ahead of all of you."

I groaned, "So you're saying I'm wasting time."

"Exactly! And don't trust anypony in Ponyville. You cannot afford to lose the Malice or Steadfast you carry with you. Now go!" she shouted, jolting me into action, "Come back in one piece, Broncston still needs you."

I returned to the group to relay the information. "Mama says we'll find something called Sympathy in Everfree and it's some sort of prescription drug. I think it's based off Malice, most likely created by the Ministries." I told them.

"Then I'll say y'all all got prescriptions." Lily nodded to me. "If it'll help in your fight then there ain't no harm."

I saw the Guardian nodding. "And we've got to take the train? How will we get back to Broncston if we need to leave in a pinch?"

"Have one of your unicorns copy my spell, but seal the gate when you return," Party explained.

"It is a simple spell," said Lady Ashe, "I can do it."

"Simple? It looks like it takes a lot of power!" Orange wheezed.

Wonder whispered in his ear, "It's easy for her, don't think too hard on it."

"So we're good to go?" I asked.

"Seems like it," Capper grinned and gave a curt nod.

"Very well, I'll see you all on the other side!" Press saluted and with that we all boarded our train.

* * *

The station outside Ponyville was dark and the sky gave no signs of life. We were now on the other side of the mountains separating the Capital Wasteland from the Broncston Wastes. Technically Bittsberg was part of the Capital Wasteland due to its close proximity to the Canterlot mountains, but other than allowing Lily and Party to deboard at the Bittsberg East Gate Station, we had sailed right through and ended up in Ponyville.

The Capital Wasteland. Colt, was it not fun to be back. Plus, the skies were dark and ominous, on artificial sun or moon to project light into this dim world. The temperature was moderate, not too hot and not too cold, which was good. "Everypony keep the talking to a minimum. In order to reach Everfree we must pass through Ponyville, and this place is deadly." I said.

"How do you know?" asked Orange Juice. He had that inquisitive yet whiny tone all younger colts got when they had a curious question, but he needed to quiet down.

"My Stable is near Canterlot, that's how I know. It's set into the mountains somewhere near here actually, and I really don't like being back." I explained to the group.

"We don't gotta talk about it if you don't wanna," said Capper, rubbing my back and I leaned into him, giving him a warm smile over my shoulder.

"So you're saying your from this side of the Veil?" Ashe Erza asked me.

"Yes."

She closed her eyes and inclined her head, "Then we have that in common."

"Let's get a move on, and Pumpkin, I advise you not to be loud." the Guardian commanded.

"He's got that right, one dumbass move and we're all blown straight to tartarus. I know how the raiders out here think, my group originated here." said Combat Zone.

"I know when to keep my voice down," Pumpkin complained. With that we ventured into Ponyville proper.

"There are landmines everywhere," Wonder pointed out, and as I looked around, I realized he was right. They were all placed so close together it was a wonder how anypony had managed not to blow themselves up. Then we saw it, the limbs and headless body of what looked like a pony wearing burnt out raider armor in a huge scorched out blast site. So he had blown himself up after all.

There was a huge carousel shaped building, a place I recognized as one of Rarity's many boutiques across Equestria. On the outside, a front as a Canterlot fashion shop, on the inside behind the many layers of clothes, a dangerous command center…

* * *

Nexus Spark

 _Pre-War: 1 Year Before The Megaspells_

"Oh, but darling, it's really quite simple," said the Minister of Image. Rarity was holding a suit in her magical grip, showing it off for Blitzfire. "At your graduation you absolutely _must_ give a speech. You are valedictorian after all." she said in her thick capital, cockney accent.

The Minister of Morale was there too, Pinkie Pie was having a hard time keeping still. "Oh, Rarity, don't you think you're being a bit overbearing on him?" she was glancing between Blitzfire and her.

"Not in the slightest, I don't think they understand the importance of this occasion!" she proclaimed, hanging up the blue Overseer suit she had been working on.

"It's just not my style." Blitz was saying.

"Oh, I understand the importance," I told Rarity, "but does light blue really convey the proper message?" as Chief of Maintenance, I didn't want to be wearing something girly all day everyday for the rest of my life.

"Well, perhaps I could update the shade of blue and pattern, but blue is such a _calming_ color that I wouldn't dare change it." she had a hoof over her forehead and was staring up at the ceiling like she was going to faint. All around us were different styles and types of Stable clothing that we were helping Rarity decide on the fashion for life in the Stables. We were in her store in Ponyville, one of the last places left standing before Canterlot.

It was all a front of course, her back room wasn't a back room at all, but in fact a huge command center buried partially beneath the earth of the small village. Wartime ponies were bustling to and fro, coming and going from the boutique but always having to make sure they were wearing civilian clothing before they even entered the shop's lobby. If any zebras caught wind that Rarity was operating out of her shop here in Ponyville, everything would go to hay in a handbasket in no time. This was the last line of defense for Canterlot.

Today, Blitz and I were here for uniform fittings. We were to be Overseer and Chief of Maintenance of Stable 14, a very important job and only given by the Ministries. This was our first time meeting Rarity, but most definitely not the first time we'd met Pinkie Pie. We considered her a friend. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Pinkie using an over the counter drug known as Steadfast. And was that…Rage? I thought Twilight had decommissioned it. As always, Blitz was too worried over small details to notice the big ones…

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

So far so good, no landmines had been tripped and everypony had remained calm enough to keep in Stealth Mode. I was just worried the large size of our group was bound to be noticed at some point. Then it happened, somepony got too close to a landmine and I heard that unmistakable beeping of the ticking countdown to detonation. "Landmine!" somepony yelled and I saw the Guardian ducking for cover, as well as Wonder, Pumpkin and OJ. We all stopped and held our breaths but it was too late, the mine exploded.

At least we were at the edge of town, hopefully no raiders had noticed. I was just thinking we were in the clear when shots rang out and two more landmines exploded. "Get 'em boys!" yelled a mare from afar. I saw the Ponyville raiders, and my Pip-Buck labelled them as fiends.

"Watch out!" yelled the Colonel as she lifted both hooves in the air and yelled, "Requip, Blade of Holy Might!" it was a sword twice the length of her own horn, and her horn had to be at least 2 or more feet long. It was an enormous sword. "With my greatsword, I smite thee!" she yelled, charging forward and ignoring all landmines in her wake. She must have some perk or magical ability that allowed her to not trip them as she walked right over them.

The rest of us equipped our weapons, Pumpkin Spice seemed to enjoy her enchanted cherry bombs, as she threw them like a crazy pony. Wonder activated his magic bangles, attacking that way. Orange Juice had a small painted crossbow with enchanted arrows that seemed to draw off his own energy, I imagined AP or MP. The Guardian had a huge machine gun that I had no idea where it came from. Capper used his enhanced magical abilities as usual, but it appeared he was focusing on his kitty-claws this time for melee. Combat had a light semi-auto rifle that he was using to fire at the enemy.

I lifted my own personal favorite, the silver revolver left to me by my ex-best friend. I reared up on my hindlegs and put one hoof above the barrel to help with recoil, firing off a couple shots before falling back to three legs. These so called fiends were tough customers. They seemed to like their territory here in Ponyville. More just kept coming and we were getting overwhelmed. I looked around and noticed there was a path nearby to Everfree. I yelled, "Fall back!" and everypony looked towards me. I gestured down the trail, indicating we were already homefree.

"Let's go!" yelled Buck.

"Move out, my little ponies," called the Colonel. Each were directing their units toward the forest. We all went at full gallop for the trees.

* * *

"We need to be very careful here," I told everypony. "There are timber-claws and Faust knows what else lurking in this forest."

"Chimeras for sure," said Lady Ashe, "and we do not want to deal with Elementals. Those mutants are not fun."

"So let's be very quiet and very sneaky," said OJ.

"Correct," said the Guardian. "I for one don't wanna face down a timber-claw."

"I say bring it on!" Combat hoisted his weapon. "I've faced down many a large foe in my day. I can handle whatever this Faust-forsaken forest throws at us."

"I'm with ya on that one!" Pumpkin was bouncing in place. "I laugh in the face of danger! Hahaha!" she forced a laugh for example, but I think she was giving off a lot of nervous energy.

We headed off into the forest, me and Capper leading the way. "You think they can handle it?" asked Capper behind a paw with a low voice.

I looked over my shoulder then up at him, "I think they're very capable. The Fort doesn't mess around and these are its finest."

"That's good, kuz I didn't want somepony incapable watching my backside." Capper scratched his head, messing up his blue curl a little.

"We shall watch your backside just fine!" Ashe Erza called to us. She didn't take lightly to insults.

"Oh, don't worry about my tomfriend," I called back to her, "he just gets nervous." I winked at him.

"I do not get nervous!" he crossed his arms.

We came to a clearing and at the opposite end was a trail. Unfortunately Ashe had been right about the chimera, for there was one sleeping straight ahead. My EFS labelled it as Enlil. It had the face of a tiger and the large swooping tale of a dragon. Its green fur was thick and heavy, and the dragon's tail was blue. That area was labelled Enki for some reason. "I don't like the looks of this," I whispered to the group. "It shows as two separate beings on my EFS."

"What say we tiptoe?" asked Lady Ashe. "Don't wake them up?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Pumpkin was the first to go and she tried to go slow but ended up bouncing halfway through. The group was following her lead, except without the bouncing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw OJ begin to copy her but he got close to the beast and accidently stepped on its tail.

"Oh no!" whispered OJ as the beast reared up, uncurling its blue tail and revealing that Enki was in fact a blue dragon's head. It roared, spurring us into action.

"Requip! Waterscyth!" yelled Erza.

"Flamethrower!" Buck was pulling out yet another heavy weapon from his inventory. How he managed to carry so much was beyond me. Maybe it was that huge suit of lightweight power armor.

Combat had already lifted up a larger gun, this one a light machine gun and not semi-auto but a full auto. He had a bullet belt strapped around his chest and connected to the clip. I don't know where Pumpkin was or what she was doing. OJ had a combat shotgun. Wonder activated his magic again and followed Capper's lead, who was lifting up his paws and creating mana orbs, calling on the red magic and backing away for long range. I pulled out my shotgun, this one double barrelled.

Pumping my shotgun I aimed down the sights. It was time to kill this beastie for good. He reared up and from his dragon head came fire. It was blue fire, matching it's scales. I didn't even get one shot off before I had to dodge roll to avoid it. "Faust damn!" I raised my gun again and fired off two shots. Then I had to pump once more. "This gun isn't gonna work." I muttered, tossing it to the ground and retrieving my revolver from its holster. I aimed, cocked, and pulled the trigger. This was a much faster weapon and the monster reared up on its hind legs before stomping the ground.

Bolts of electricity came surging toward all of us and we all had to scramble. "We'll never get anywhere if we use Water or Electricity!" yelled Ashe Erza. "Requip, Rose Blade!" it was a red sword imbued with elemental fire properties. She rushed forward, slicing and dicing and the creature reared back, trying to avoid her sword. It failed in doing so as it was too big to hide in the trees and only had this clearing to stay in for its size. "Die you foul beast!" Erza cried.

"Allow me to help out!" came a call from Pumpkin Spice. She jumped from out of nowhere, landing on the monster's back and stuffing some candy down its throat. Its eyes widened as both creatures opened their mouths and released a huge burp, fire spewing from both sets of jaws. We all had to rush to duck to avoid being toasted.

"Pumpkin, be careful when you do stuff like that!" the Guardian shouted.

OJ called out too, "Yeah, I don't wanna be an ooey gooey marshmallow!"

The creature toppled and Pumpkin hopped off. "Looks like I took care of the problem."

"No, I think you just gave him a new pet peeve, because he only looks peeved off," Wonder's eyes were widening as we all realized the Enki/Enlil Chimera was starting to get back to its feet.

"I'd say we better get the buck outta here before he regains his wits." said Capper.

"I agree!" I exclaimed and we all took off.

* * *

There was a cliffside that overlooked the secret laboratory. There was a tower across the way, called the Lighthouse. Whistling Springs was long dried out, but the lab and Lighthouse looked to be still intact. However, there appeared to be ashlings mulling about down below. I was beside the Guardian, who was using binoculars to see more clearly. "What's your assessment?" I asked him.

"I think there are about three outside, but they should be heading in soon based on the way they're moving." He was right, they headed inside.

"I hope that Circle of Ash fella isn't around either." said Capper, twirling a finger in the air and looking nervous. I had never seen this side of him. Usually he was so calm and collected, but the Circle really made him on edge.

"I say we get a move on! The clock won't tick any faster!" said Erza. We stood and made our way to a staircase carved into the cliffside. It was narrow so we all had to take it one at a time.

Before we went in, we checked the area below out first, making sure it was clear. Inside the air was frosty. It was like somepony had turned the AC way down. The lights were dim. Then suddenly a purple light filled the air. Right before our eyes appeared swirling violet sparkles. "Alicorn magic detected." I heard somepony say.

"I know that voice…" said Capper.

"Welcome, Capper." Princess Celestia appeared in front of us, behind her was the Princess of Friendship, whom I'd only met once.

"Celestia! By the sisters…well by you! I cannot believe you're here." Capper was in shock.

"Unfortunately my little catlord, I am not here. I am a recorded Astral Intelligence program placed here in case Equestria fell into great need. As I am, so is Princess Twilight."

"I apologize for the confusion," said Twilight. "The whole thing was my idea." she was beaming proudly as she tended to do.

"You're so lifelike!" Pumpkin poked at Celestia but her hoof went right through, causing a glitch in the violet shimmers. She pulled her hoof out and shook it off and Celestia rolled her eyes but smiled.

"So what are you doing here then?" asked Capper, "If you're not technically real."

"Oh, we're real, just not in the sense that you would like." Twilight told us.

"That makes no sense!" Capper threw his paws up.

"Allow me to explain," Celestia gave a knowing smile. "Our software in the Lighthouse detected an apocalyptic event long ago and we have been lying dormant here ever since. Only alicorn magic could activate us, for risk of our knowledge falling into the wrong hands. We are here to guide you and friends through the base to the secret lock up so you can all save Equestria."

"Wait, so the Lighthouse really does store a secret treasure?" I was scrolling through maps and charts on my EFS, and I had pulled out several of my Stable Tech documents. Many of them mentioned the Lighthouse as being a primitive Fallout shelter.

"Yes, the greatest treasure of them all." Twilight nodded with a huge smile befitting her ego.

"My files are redacted! Why are they redacted? I'm an Overseer for buck's sake!" I tossed my papers to the ground, worthless.

"I understand, but the Stable 14 Overseer was not granted the necessary clearance for the treasure in the Lighthouse." said Celestia.

"For risk of the information falling into the wrong hooves." Twilight said.

"Well, can you tell me now? We're clearly not the wrong hooves." I was getting exasperated.

"Only Capper has the necessary clearance for that knowledge, the rest of you will have to find out when you get there. For now, if you would allow me to guide you, Twilight will explain when you reach the chambers."

"Why Capper?" asked Orange Juice.

"Oh sweet sweet OJ, if only I could explain in a way you would understand, but you will also have to see for yourself." Celestia smiled at him in such a manor to make any sane pony uncomfortable. Too bad the wasteland wasn't sane.

"He does have the necessary clearance," Twilight muttered beneath her breath.

"Wait, he has clearance but not me?" the Guardian snapped.

Celestia groaned, "Listen, we are out in the open here and the ashlings have tripped the alarms. If we don't move fast, base security protocols will hunt down any living thing inside."

"We cannot afford to lose any of you!" Twilight snapped and with that the two mares spun on their hooves and we had no choice but to follow them.

We made our way through the twisting and turning halls of the Lighthouse bunker, so many corridors it gave one the sense of being lost. Thank the sisters for minimaps and saving technology. I had a map of the base memorized by now, as I was studying the minimap. "How astute of you," Celestia commented when she noticed what I was doing.

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"I'm literally made of magic, I can see all arcana, including private Eyes Forward Sparkles." she explained.

Finally we came to a huge gear door, one with a simple looking opening device. It had no buttons or levers, instead there was a circle shaped indent with a standard horseshoe impression. "Orange Juice will have to open the first lock." said Twilight. "Only a pony capable of possessing alicorn magic can open this door, and seeing as I'm dead…well." she moved aside to allow for Orange Juice to do his thing.

"What am I supposed to do?" Orange Juice was looking between the tall white alicorn and the short purple one. "I'm so lost!" he was terrified.

"Only you can figure that out," said Celestia. "Nopony can help you here…"

"Nopony?" Orange Juice looked to the Guardian, then to Pumpkin Spice then to Wonder.

Pumpkin Spice jumped to attention, "You can't put him in front of a gear door like that and expect him to understand! Can't you see he's terrified? You're forcing him to relive terrible memories!"

"That's kinda the point." Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Now, Twilight…" Celestia said in that calming tone of hers.

"Let us help him!" Buck stamped a hoof.

"Very well," Celestia closed her eyes and lowered her head in inclination.

Wonder stepped forward. "Not you!" Twilight snapped.

"Oh, okay, whatever. It's not like I'm his coltfriend or anything."

"What Twilight means to say is you're too close to him in relationship…it has to be a close friend, not a lover." Celestia explained more calmly. "She forgets herself sometimes." Celestia glared at Twilight.

"It's not my fault the Minister was completely insane and made my personality so snappy! It's her fault for having such an inflated ego!" snapped Twilight.

"Power does that to a pony." Celestia told her.

Pumpkin stepped forward, putting a tender hoof on OJ's back, "Orange, think about our bedtime routine back in the Fort. You know how locking your door is important? Well now it's time to open the door."

OJ heaved a huge sigh, almost as though he'd been holding his breath. "Okay!" slowly and shakily he rose a hoof. He flipped the glass case and put his hoof right inside the circle. It was like the panel was designed specially for him.

A purple light flashed and the gear began to roll. Behind the gear was yet another gear door. "There had to be two for security purposes," said Twilight.

"Now it's Capper's turn." Celestia nodded to him.

"By all the gods!" Capper threw his paws up, "I can't believe it. You were telling me the truth all those years ago?"

"Truth? What truth?" I spun on my hooves and faced my tomfriend.

Capper looked tentatively into my eyes and then over to the two princess astral projections. "Can I tell them, or is it still classified?"

"One door is already opened, might as well." Twilight nodded.

"Okay…so here's what went down…" Capper was very expressive with those paws.

* * *

Capper Dapperpaws

 _100 Years Post War_

When Achilles and I had woken from our stasis, we had awakened to find our bodies had been replaced with synthetics. A recording Twilight had left explained everything to us, but that wasn't the full story. Celestia had come on just before the megaspells hit, and she gave me and Achilles a secret mission. Seeing as she had been long dead, Achilles and I had taken what she'd said with a grain of salt. Now I knew we were gravely mistaken.

" _Are you in Harmony?"_ Came Twilight had asked us. She then went on to explain the acronym, ending in, " _Y: Yikes! Incoming,"_ a few alarms began going off in the recording, " _We don't have much time left. Just remember duck and cover. But not really!"_

After a speil from long gone Pinkie Pie, Celestia's voice had come on. " _Capper, Achilles. This message is being sent to you from the Lighthouse. We have detected a great evil stirring in Equestria. The source seems to be north of the Capital Wasteland. Travel to Double Diamond City. There you will meet the friends you need. You're a friend indeed, Capper. You have the friendship magic imbued in your blood. Please Capper Dapperpaws, you're our only hope."_ Achilles had hated the way Celestia addressed me, thinking I was her prize favorite or something, when we both should've known Twilight had always been her favorite.

Twilight had come on next, "This message is an automated astral projection record being broadcast from the Lighthouse at Whistling Springs. I am Twilight. Someday soon you will come to me and I will ask for your help. I don't know the exact date because I can't see the future, but I hope it's in time to save Equestria. We need you. Don't give up hope. Friendship never changes and friendship now runs in your veins."

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time…_

"That was us!" Twilight said. "Not the real Twilight, but us! You finally get it now." she was smiling with glee.

"Yeah, I do, but I don't think y'all fully understand. The cryptic nature of those messages destroyed my and Achilles' relationship. I never liked talking about him or you ever since."

"Oh, by Faust, I hope we haven't caused any permanent damage!" Celestia was genuinely concerned.

"We had to be cryptic, we didn't know if you two would wake up corrupted or if somepony would find the other messages left behind." Twilight said.

"There was no permanent damage, Achilles and I are fine again, and he's off on some island rescuing synths." Capper waved his paw.

"Good for him. Can we get a move on? Our sensors detect Ponytrons closing in on this location." Celestia was getting anxious.

"Sounds like a plan," Buck nodded for Capper to continue forward.

"Alright, alright. I'm the friend you need. I hope all this is explained in further detail when we see what's inside this chamber."

"Oh, it'll be explained alright." said Princess Twilight. Capper approached the panel, where a pawprint shaped was visible.

"So it's made specifically for me?"

"Or Achilles, whomever made friends and came here first." said Twilight.

Capper shook his head and placed his paw on the scanner. The panel blipped and the second gear rolled slowly and steadily to the side. "Oh colt oh colt! I can't wait!" Pumpkin was bouncing up and down on the tips of her hooves.

"Me neither!" Orange Juice was bouncy too.

"All this effort to protect…" the Colonel peered closely as the door opened far enough to reveal a shriveled up old tree. "Some tree…is this a sick joke?"

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Twilight rushed inside, muttering to herself. "It can't be dead, it just can't!"

"All this work, for nothing!" the sisters were in distress.

I stepped inside and walked through them, as they were just projections. I stepped up to the tree and plucked a purple leaf off. "Whistle Reed? Are you kidding, some hallucinogen was what this was all for? We could've gotten this stuff from the base's storerooms."

"You don't get it!" Twilight snapped, looking pissed.

Celestia just looked sad, her gaze toward the decaying roots. "This…this is the Tree of Harmony. Wherever the stones have gone to…well the tree's been dead for a long time."

"No wonder so much darkness has spread throughout Eqestria." Twilight was bowing her head too, tears forming in her eyes.

"Wait, you're saying Whistle Reed grows on the Tree of Harmony?" I stared between the two princesses and then to the so called tree.

"That's where we always got it, yes." said Celestia.

"The Tree of Harmony causes hallucinations, because of what? An overdose of harmony?" I narrowed my eyes at the two sisters, then spun around to the workbench nearby. There was an array of drugs on the table.

"Wait, you're right! We never found a modulator. Something natural to stop it from causing a real problem." Twilight was muttering to herself.

"Steadfast!" I exclaimed. Everypony was staring at the two of us like we were crazy.

"But that's just some weak over the counter stuff." Twilight narrowed her eyes as she considered the possibilities.

"Not if you combine it with Malice. We all could use magic then!" I was starting to piece together the lost puzzle pieces we had been missing from the very beginning. Rage was so unstable because of it all. I pulled the notes from my pack, rereading. _You must have Sympathy,_ Mama Madmare's voice played like a violin in my head. "Of course! Whistle Reed caused an overdose in Rage! Malice is more refined! Steadfast is a control drug!"

"Wait, did you say Whistle Reed was causing an overdose and Steadfast controlled it?" Twilight spun around and faced toward me. Celestia was smiling again. "Then all we would need to do is…OF COURSE! Zecora you are one smart zebra Equestria was lucky to have." Twilight snapped to attention and went to the table. There were clear vials with blue liquid in each one. "This is Sacred Water. She told me when the time came, we would need it."

"I believe her exact words were: 'when the time is right, this will aid in your fight'." Celestia commented.

"What fight?" asked OJ, but the three of us were ignoring the group for now.

"I love watching his mind work," Capper said behind a paw.

"It is rather fun," Pumpkin was eating popcorn from a white and pink striped popcorn tub. Where had she gotten popcorn?!

"What's Sacred Water?" I asked the princess.

"It's a type of Sparkling Water that Zecora refined to aid in mana generation." Twilight explained as she used her magical grip to drop some Whistle Reed into the batches. There were six in total. "Please tell me you have some of this Malice and six batches of Steadfast."

I plunged a hoof into my satchel, "I do actually."

"Good!" without asking she used her magic to pull the six needles of Malice and six bottles of Steadfast out of the pack.

"Hey!" I exclaimed.

"Now, using the Whistle Reed leaves from the Tree of Harmony, the full does of Steadfast, half doses of Malice and all the Sacred Water we can get, I should be able to brew…oh, what's a good name for it?" she looked over her shoulder at Celestia.

"Don't ask me," she nodded to me. "The Overseer deserves the credit so he deserves to name it too."

 _Sympathy!_ I realized what we'd just done. "From Harmony comes Friendship and from Friendship comes Sympathy!" I yelled as the full realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Mama Madmare was right.

"Sympathy, what a fitting name for our new Harmony potions." said Celestia as each batch turned a different color.

Celestia took over, "One is purple, for the Element of Magic, or Twilight. That will go to our true alicorn of the group." she passed it to OJ, who held it in his magical grip. The potion was a swirling tangerine color, looking like a drink of orange juice. "I believe a more fitting name is due, but don't drink it yet."

"This soo cool! I can't believe I get to be Twilight! Whoever that is…" Orange Juice was thrilled to receive a cup of juice. He looked like he couldn't wait to drink it.

Twilight passed me a glass, "One is blue, for the Element of Loyalty, but your true affinities will become apparent after you drink them."

I took it without question. "I knew Pinkie Pie a lot better than I knew the other Ministers, but if I'm taking over Rainbow's Element, then so be it," I said.

"Here is orange, for the Element of Honesty," Celestia gave it to Capper, who looked a bit shocked. "You may be honest, but unfortunately for you, you aren't a true alicorn. Thankfully you found this little gem," she beamed at OJ who in turn smiled back.

"Well, hey, I don't know about all this Element of Honesty business, but at least Celestia didn't send me into the wasteland for nothin'." he commented.

Twilight gave Combat a white liquid, "Oh, me?" he was a little caught off guard.

"You're white, for the Element of Generosity, or Rarity." she told him.

"I ain't no Faust damned mare! If I gotta sacrifice for the greater good, whatever, but I'll shoot anypony who calls me Rarity." he stamped a hoof then accepted the potion.

"You are Fluttershy, for you seem to have an affinity for a depth of emotion she always had." Celestia gave Buck a yellow drink.

"I don't take lightly being compared to a pacifist filly." he said but accepted the drink.

"Lastly, Pumpkin Spice. Oh thank Faust Pinkie's line survived," Twilight sighed in relief as she hoofed over a pink potion to Pumpkin.

"I always knew my great-grandmare passed something down to me! I just didn't know the responsibility was so huge until now!" she was bouncing in place, overjoyed.

"What about us?" asked Wonder.

"Yes, I demand to know why we are here if we are not to receive drinks." Erza was inflamed.

"Unfortunately you must be a close friend to the true alicorn or the magic will not work," said Celestia.

"Seeing as these drinks have already chosen their successors, it's all up to the magic. We don't determine that, so don't blame us." said Twilight.

"We are only projections of our former selves after all," Celestia bowed her head in respect to Lady Ashe. "But I do recognize a princess when I see one. You aren't from Equestria, are you?"

"No! I am most certainly not. I got stuck in this dreadful place when my airship crash landed in your desolate capital." Ashe stamped a hoof and snorted through her nostrils.

"I do apologize, but hopefully the new Harmony bearers will be of help in restoring Equestria to its former glory." Celestia smiled down on the rest of us.

"So coltfriend doesn't count as close. I get it, I get it." Wonder backed off. He did look ticked though.

"You must hurry, the ashlings have caught wind of what we're doing and we can't hold the Ponytrons off for much longer." Twilight gasped.

"Everypony, drink now!" Celestia commanded.

We did so, each of us drinking at our own pace. OJ chugged his like a champ and he was the first to lift into the air in a swirl of turquoise light. "Whoa!" he was awestruck. "You are the Element of Optimism! What a great way to introduce you…" Twilight seemed to have the breath sucked out of her as she slowly began to be absorbed into Orange Juice.

Capper lifted slowly into the air in a swirl of his purple magic. "You have two synthetic mana's with you?" Celestia had some magic begin to drain off her as Capper's purple magic flowed.

"You have that perfectly and chaotically correct, Your Majesty," Capper was no longer Capper, but Cheshire Cat instead. The purple cat bowed in greeting to Celestia. "We seem to be not all here, but I have more control now. It's pleasant."

Then Capper reappeared. "I…I appear to have a friend indeed! As we all keep saying, and I think…ah yes, the Element of Promise," his eyes twinkled as he looked at me with a deep love.

I began to float into the air next, my magic the signature violet-red color. "Whoa!" the feeling was exhilarating and the drink was delicious. "Sympathy really does wonders!" I yelled in surprise, feeling super happy and excited all at once. I hadn't felt this way in so long. The drug was working!

"These affects will be permanent by the way," said Celestia as Twilight fully disappeared into Orange Juice and some of the Sun Princess's magic rubbed off on me. "You are the Element of Vigilance. Your observative nature will keep everypony on the right track. You really were the best fit for Overseer, Ravager Blitzfire."

Next up was Combat, who whinnied in protest as he was lifted off his hooves and into the air by neon yellow magic. "Combat Zone, you are the Element of Sacrifice. You gave up your position as raider king to help a cause you saw as beneath you. You truly have sacrificed everything for your friends."

"Well it's about damn time I got some recognition." that made Celestia laugh.

Buck was thrust upward, his armor making it harder for the magic to lift him. His magic was blue in color, "By Faust! What a rush!"

"It would be, Element of Resolve," said Princess Twilight. "Your resolve puts you in a position to better teach Orange Juice all he needs to know about Equestria. Your relationship with him deepens the bonds of all your magicks." she eyed every one of us as she slowly faded away into him.

Finally, Pumpkin was lifted into the air, her magic an autumn orange color, almost brown. "Wow, this is the most beautiful shade of orange I've _ever_ seen!"

Celestia chuckled, "You're the Element of Delight, and delightful you most certainly are."

"I am a party pony, you know!"

Twilight spoke up before she completely disappeared into Orange Juice, "You all are gaining alicorn powers through your close relationship to Orange Juice. The more you fight to save Equestria, the stronger you all will be. With my final breath, I dub him, Prince of Friendship!" with that Twilight's magic was fully absorbed into Orange Juice and in a brilliant flash of orange magic a set of wings slowly unfolded from Orange's back. They were ginormous, looking almost impossible to control…

Orange Juice

I watched as my friends slowly sank to the ground and Wonderful stared in complete shock and amazement. Lady Ashe also had her mouth wide open. "My final words to you are this," Celestia began. "Now that Twilight's magic is absorbed into Orange Juice, he is a full blown alicorn. Nothing will change that. You must all help him; even you Wonder, and Ashe Erza. If his friends do not stick by him, Equestria is doomed." with that she faded away into all of my friends, bestowing upon us new abilities we had no control over and nopony to ask for guidance.

I saw then a few Ponytrons, the nasty looking pony robots that were meant for base security. I had all of Twilight's magic, and my entire EFS had went from green to purple in a split second. I snapped open my wings and attempted to fly forward to come between the bots and my friends. Instead I went careening towards the floor and veering off to the side.

"OJ!" cried Wonder as I smashed into the wall…

 _(Footnote: So Orange Juice just became an alicorn! I hope you guys like this little plot twist. and don't worry, Orange isn't gonna be one of those stale, overpowered character. He's just coming into this, he has no idea what he's doing. He'll need the power of friendship and all his friends on his side in order to stop Circle of Ash and this new Moon guy. More on that later! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did! I'm so excited to use the Elements of Harmony in my story. See ya soon for another chapter!)_

 **Brohoof! /)**


	21. Chapter 19 Flight School

**Chapter 19** Flight School

Orange Juice

I stood and shook myself off. The Ponytrons were close, but they halted when I faced them. I went into a defensive stance, spreading my wings to their full span. They were both long enough to cover the entrance to the Tree of Harmony chamber. "Leave my friends alone!" I stuck my tongue out at the first Ponytron that attempted to pass. It stopped, looking confused, and I saw some of my turquoise magic drift off my horn and touch the horn on its head. It narrowed its eyes and creased its brows in confusion.

"I do not compute your request," it said to me.

An evil laugh became apparent, coming from behind the group of bots. "It won't be that simple, silly little ponies," came the first of the three ashlings. Where the other two had gone, it was unclear. "You see, I have my own Malice, and these bots bow to me."

"I bow to the Princess of Friendship." said the unicorn Ponytron. The other Ponytrons had glowing red eyes and were missing their horns. The ashling had made them all earth ponies!

"I am the Prince of Friendship!" I zapped its horn with my turquoise mana.

"Prince…alicorn magic detected, going into defense mode." it's mechanized voice stated as it slowly turned around and faced its former companions.

"What?! How can you do that!" the ashling's eyes widened when he saw my fluttering wings. I was slowly stretching and folding them, looking back at their humongous size.

"I don't wanna fight you," I said, turning my attention back on the ashling. "But me and my friends will if we must."

"Then you must, because Circle of Ash and Ritual of the Moon have both requested I kill you all." cackled the ashling. "Seeing as you've turned this bot against me," he lifted a hoof, where a stone was visible, "I'll just disable them all!" a white lightning bolt, or rather a bright flash of light, shot from the black crystal blew up all the bots. "And then I'll open a summoning gate," giggled the ashling. He lowered his hood, showing that he was a green pony who looked much like me.

"G-Greenie?" I folded my wings…"UP-1?" I backed away.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"OJ! Get away from him!" I yelled, rushing forward when OJ finally lowered his wings. I saw before me the wreckage of three Ponytrons and a crying OJ. "What did you do to him!" I yelled at the green unicorn.

"I did nothing but reveal who I am. I also don't take kindly to my old designation. Circle of Ash helped me see the light. My name is Lucky Charm."

"That doesn't look like light to me," said Pumpkin, who had rushed forward to put a hoof around OJ's shoulders. Wonder was on OJ's other side.

"You're right, it is darkness, rather, isn't it?" Greenie laughed loudly and a small summoning gate opened. Darkness seeped from it, reaching for one of the fallen Earth Ponytrons.

I lifted my gun, "Don't even think about summoning a darkling or I'll kill you where you stand."

"No!" OJ jumped in front of him, turning to face the group and spreading his wings wide. "Don't kill him, he's my bestest friend!"

"He isn't your friend OJ, he has a black rock and is planning on killing us with it." Buck stepped forward. "Please, lower your wings before he summons a darkling.

OJ did as he was told and I trained my pistol on UP-1. "What's it gonna be."

"Please, please don't kill him," OJ had tears streaming freely down his face now. Something about this seemed exceedingly familiar to me. I looked at the green unicorn and pictured him as having black fur instead. Then I realized that to OJ he must be a friend because to me, if Greenie had green eyes and black fur instead of green fur and black eyes, he'd look exactly like Nexus Spark.

"Wait! There's something off about him," I lowered my pistol.

"What is wrong with you ponies!" Lucky Charm was looking between all of us, incredulous, "Here I am with an evil black stone, about to kill the lot of you, and you think you can just get lucky and sway me to your side? I'm so over OJ." he spat. But something in his eyes twinkled with recognition as he looked upon the newly born alicorn.

"He is a Prince now, doesn't that mean we gotta listen to him?" Pumpkin said.

"That would in fact be the case where I come from," said Lady Ashe. "Usually you marry into the title there though. Not magically sprout wings."

"You married into being Lady Ashe?" Wonder gave her a funny look.

"I was one of the lucky few who married the love of my life. To bad he is now dead, rest his soul."

"What are you all talking about? It is time to finish this!" Lucky held up the stone and the darkness grew again.

"It's the stone! It's making him be a bad pony!" OJ pointed at the stone and cried.

Ashe Erza sprang into action, "Then I shall spur the moment," she summoned a sword, and swiped the gemstone from Lucky's hoof. The magic instantly fell away and the light in the room grew again.

"Wh-what?" stuttered Lucky, backing away. "You…you dare challenge me? The great…Lucky…wait…" he looked at OJ, blinking. "UP-26? What are you doing here? What's going on?" then he fainted.

Ashe had a hoofkercheif, which she used to retrieve the black gemstone from where it had fallen on the floor. "Time to wrap this up finely, the magic radiating off of it seems to have come from the ceremonial sword from my homeland used last year to perform the Circle ritual. Nethecite is a dangerous stone in the wrong hooves." she pocketed the shard.

"I…think I wanna go back to Double Diamond City now…"

Lady Ashe nodded, "I can easily seal this chamber and create a hidden portal between here and there. The magic stemming from you has bolstered me as well. Like Celestia said, I'm a princess too." she turned around and her horn began to glow a furious red, "I call upon my ancestors to seal this chamber in your glorious light. Do me the honor of casting this gate. Teleport!" the entire room was awashed in a powerful glow and it appeared to be stemming from the stone in Erza's pocket. She looked down at herself curoiusly and pulled it out. It was glowing a furious white, the darkness draining from it.

Greenie was beginning to come to. "What's happening guys?" he blinked at all of us.

"That magic that once held you captive is changing to Light. The nethicite is now magicite. I can use it as a one way teleportation stone through the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Once we leave this place we cannot come back. Is everypony ready?"

"I was born ready!" Pumpkin hopped into the glowing light portal. It was so bright she became invisible the instant she touched it.

"Think only of Double Diamond's gate! Or you will not appear in Our Town Proper." Erza called into the portal. She waved the rest of us through and we all followed Pumpkin Spice. Greenie was just before Ashe Erza, and Erza was last. The portal sealed, leaving the Tree of Harmony forever.

* * *

Orange Juice

When I jumped through the portal, my wings snapped open on accident and I went soaring through the air on the other side, before I crashed into the ground and went rolling to a stop in front of the Guardian. "It looks like you're gonna need flying lessons. That'll be quite the task."

"Actually," said Erza, who had just come through the now sealed gate, "I can put in a call for Felia Heart and Joyride, I'm sure Joy would love to teach OJ how to fly."

"I would speak to DD about using a radio then," said Party Favor, who was just walking up. "Hey all, we noticed gate activity and I was sent to check on it. Glad to see it's just you guys. How went your mission, I see there's a new alicorn in town!"

"Hi! I'm the Prince of Friendship and I have no idea what that means," I bounced up and smiled at Party Favor.

Pumpkin was by my side and she began laughing, "Oh, OJ! You crack me up!" she popped a piece of Niponese candy and began chewing, the pink taffy like substance visible in her mouth getting stuck to her teeth.

"I want one," I whined.

"Here, but next time say please," she passed me an orange flavored Hi-Chew. My favorite! Something about it tasted much better today.

I looked back at my wings and stretched them out a little as I chewed my candy. They were so big, I could block out my peripheral view if I wasn't careful. I wondered if Joyride could help me. He sometimes flew with wings when Heart used her magic on him, but that was only in the field and they normally weren't field ponies. Only within the last year had they begun their training for work outside the Fort. I think Joy really loved it but Heart was a very cautious pony.

"OJ, stop staring at your wings and come here a moment." Ashe Erza was waving at me from the ski lift. I folded my wings and galloped to her.

"What's up?" I smiled, sticking my tongue out and making a silly face.

"Party told me Double Diamond is in a house at the second peak. It used to be a government office, but they've been working to convert the second floor into a living space. It's sorta like an inn." The lift jolted into action, lifting us up, up and away. We gradually climbed to the top of the three mountains, where the explosion of Broncston Commons had caused a cave in and an avalanche on the third peak. It was now completely inaccessible via that destroyed ice bridge. The lift came to a stop on the second peak.

We got off and the Colonel showed me the way to the inn. Ponies all around the street were watching me with wide eyes. "He's an alicorn," whispered one. "I can't believe my eyes," said another. All eyes were on me as Lady Ashe and I entered the inn. A sign above the door read, The Cave Inn. It was funny because it referenced the destroyed Broncston Commons and the fact that part of the building was built into a system of caves on the side of the second mountain.

Upstairs were the rooms. A few had been converted from their original office state into fine looking bedrooms, with fancy beds and everything. "The Inn is coming along nicely," said Ashe as we found Double Diamond in one bedroom.

"Holy mother of alicorns, dude! You've got wings!" Double Diamond was smiling with his whole face as his eyes traveled up and down my body. "Looking good my pone!"

"Th-thanks I guess…I still don't know how to use them. They're big and awkward." I trying flapping them a little but the space in the bedroom was too small.

"That's kinda why we're here," explained Ashe Erza. "We need to use the radio in the lower offices to contact the Fort. We have one pony there that has experience flying and I think he could really teach our little prince here." she beamed down at me. "I'm proud of him by the way, he's come so far in this last year."

"Lady Ashe!" I blushed and covered my face with one wing.

"Well no kidding! Have you seen his cutie mark? It looks different from the last time I saw him. We all looked, and I noticed that my entire flank had been filled in with turquoise fur surrounding the orange fruit cutie mark. The straw had disappeared and there were white dots scattered all throughout the turquoise wave.

"Whoaaaa…" my eyes widened in curiosity as I stared at both my hips. It was spectacular.

"It's quite impressive," said Lady Ashe.

DD led us down to the radio room he had in the main offices of the slowly transforming inn. All around were ponies busy at work restoring the old government building and changing it from its old drab appearance to a cozy place of rest for weary travelers. I loved it! Office buildings were _boring_! The radio room had a couple ponies inside occupying the stations and tweaking some dials on a large colorful control board. "If we increase this signal and allow arcana burst here, it should allow radio waves through the gate." somepony was muttering.

"Have you figured it out, Phoenix?" DD asked the red unicorn pony at the station.

"Almost there!" said the antsy pony, who was jumping from hoof to hoof as he messed with the dials. "Ah, I got it! Party Favor was right, not a hard spell at all."

"Who's this?" asked Ashe Erza.

"Colonel, OJ, meet Phoenix Flame. He's Party's Apprentice."

"The sorcerer's apprentice, if you will, and please, call me Nix." he held out his hoof and I grabbed it to shake.

I like to shake hard and fast, smiling big as I did so. "Nice to meet you!"

"I like this one, so much spunk!" Nix flipped his purple bangs from his face.

"Spunk?" I don't know what it meant, but I liked the way it sounded. I wiggled in place as I waited for Ashe Erza to shake his hoof.

"Now that the formalities are out of the way, may I ask to use your radio?"

"Of course, now that it's operational, it is open for business." Nix backed away from the receiver and Ashe took over. "Just select who you'd like to contact and the gate should patch you through to them."

"Welcome to Fort Task Room, who am I speaking with?" came a crackly voice from the speakers.

"Ah yes, this is Colonel Ashe Erza, designation code 887. Patch me through to the General if you will."

"Right away ma'am!"

"General speaking," came the voice of the old stallion.

"Good afternoon, sir. I would like to put in a request for Felia Heart and Joyride. I have Orange Juice here who was just dubbed Prince by old alicorn magic. If Joyride can, I'd love to have him come give Orange Juice some flying lessons."

"From what Lily has told me of the ashling and darkling situation, it sounds like you can use all the magic users you can get. We haven't seen any darklings here, thank the sisters." the General said.

"Very good, sir."

"I'll send for Heart and Joy as soon as I get off this call. We'll have the Puppydog learning to fly within the hour. Is he there with you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Son," the General addressed me, "I wanna give you my congratulations. The moment you return home I will be awarding you a medal of honor. Everything you've done for us and for Stable 28 this past year has been more than enough to earn you one. We're all proud of you."

"Oh…th-thank you, sir!" I didn't know what to say.

There came a knock against the doorframe to the radio room. "Is OJ in here?" a mare asked. She had on a nurse's hat. "I just came over from the clinic in the town proper. Somepony named Greenie has asked for OJ."

My heart dropped when his name was mentioned. "Greenie?" I gulped.

* * *

Greenie was snuggled in blankets on the hospital bed in the Double Diamond clinic. He looked unwell, his eyes were sunken. "Hey OJ," he coughed and a nurse took a thermometer out of his mouth.

"Hi…" I bit my lip. It had been a long time since I'd seen him, I thought he had died.

"I'm sorry for what I did…" his voice trailed off as he stared downward, looking ashamed.

"You didn't do anything wrong!" I exclaimed. "It wasn't your fault."

"OJ…I have to tell you something. That sunstone you took from me wasn't the only one of its kind. Another pony you know very well has another almost identical stone. A moonstone."

"Somepony I know well?"

There came a shouting from outside, "Extra, extra!" it sounded like Piper, "The Institute strikes again. This time with a new model of synthetic pony called a Magistrate. This advanced Courser technology is arcane science at its worst. Extra, extra! Read all about it!" the window was open and I looked over to it, staring at the clouds in the sky and wondering what it would be like to touch them. I bet it was fun, and I imagined they'd be soft and fluffy. They looked like ice-cream scoops.

"Orange Juice, you have to listen to me. They changed her from what she really was!" Greenie was getting overworked. "She's no longer pink! She's no longer herself! Connect the two pieces and I don't know what will happen! Gah!" Greenie gagged as a nurse stuck him with a needle. "No, no! I have to tell him what I know. OJ, she's going to attack Sanctuary! You have to stop her and help her see the light again or you'll never stop the ashlings from destroying the Institute."

"Calm down sir, you're going to be okay."

Greenie's eyelids started to droop. "Priscilla…she's not what you…think… * _yaaaawwwn!_ *" with that, Greenie's eyes closed and he was fast asleep.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"Extra, extra! Read all about it!" Piper was waving a newly printed newspaper around and trying to sell it, but ponies just dodged her in the street. I saw her waving the print around and I walked up to her.

"How much for one?"

"5 caps." she smiled in glee as I passed her the change. She gave me one of the papers. "You're one of my first customers in a long time. Good on ya." she winked.

The paper she had written criminalized the Institute and painted it out to be a horrible monster that only made these so called "Courser Magistrates" because they wanted to take over the world. "Why do you hate the Institute of Friendship so much?" I asked her as I lowered the paper.

"Have you seen the old propaganda Twilight put out during the war? I have! I have memorabilia and posters and even letters sent to Celestia from Twilight herself." Piper took a huge breath and continued talking really fast again. "That 'friendship never changes' crap was a lie they fed the public. What's really going on is that they replaced real ponies with copies, trying to win an unwinnable war by drafting anypony off the street against their will with no say in the matter."

"I…don't think that's what happened. My tomfriend is one of the first generation synthetics and he wasn't used to replace himself."

"That's what they want ya to think!" she snapped, a smirk on her face. "What do you think happened to the real Capper Dapperpaws? Have you ever even asked him? He'll give you some line that he is the real Capper, but you don't really know what happened to his old body, do ya?" when she saw my face fall she beamed with pride. "See, makes sense don't it?"

"It is a creepy twist on it, but I fell in love with this Capper, not the other one, so I don't think there's too much of a problem. Besides, even if the real Capper had lived through whatever may or may not have happened, it's 200 years past the date the synthetic Capper was created. He'd be long dead by now."

"But what about anypony else? The Institute is still around and I heard they've just created a super breed of synths. You gotta wonder why."

"Everypony in the wasteland is crazy in their own way. I try not to think too much about it," I told her.

Just then the gate flared up a bright blue and two ponies stepped through. A blue earth pony with a swept over dark blue mane wearing a huge green knapsack looked around at the town with curious brown eyes; and a mint green unicorn mare with wide scarlet eyes and an umbrae purple mane wearing a flowing pink dress that had small wing attachments adorning it. I assumed these were Joyride and Felia Heart. Orange Juice was just emerging from the clinic.

"Oh colt, oh colt! I can't wait to fly." he galloped toward the two ponies. There was a short conversation and instructions on safety.

Then I saw Felia work her magic. A pink mist filled the area and Felia leapt into the air with her friend Joyride following her. "I call on the strength of our evergreen bond, commence link!" the two touched hooves and bounced away from each other, white light bursting from the contact.

"Exceeded form!" Joy sprouted white wings, looking angelic, and the white light turned to violet-pink magic from Felia. She was surrounded by a huge orb of it and she floated in the air with her eyes closed.

"Go now, Joy, and teach Orange Juice the ways of the sky."

"Aye, this is the way!" he chuckled as he swooped down and picked up Orange Juice. Grayish white magic swelled around Orange Juice and Joyride brought the colt high into the air. "You're gonna wanna snap your wings open and catch yourself…" his voice trailed away as he got too high for me to hear him.

My heart nearly leapt from my chest when I saw what Joyride was planning. He dropped OJ from the sky and OJ began to yell. Joy shouted something and Orange snapped his wings open. He swooped forward and he screamed, but it sounded joyful this time. "Looks like he's having fun." Capper was behind me.

I jumped, "You scared me!" I punched him playfully and he gave me a kiss.

"Buck wants to see you." Capper told me when we pulled apart.

"Oh, I see. Well, lead the way then mister. But you owe me a makeout session for interrupting it like that." I stuck my tongue out and followed Capper to the ski-lift. I wondered what was so urgent Buck wanted to see me.

 _(Footnote: So, remember the pony from Rebel Heart that OJ made friends with while still UP-25 in the Stable? That's Greenie! UP-1! Beside that, I am totally excited to bring Joyride and Felia Heart back. They will definitely prove helpful in teaching Orange Juice how to fly. How do you feel about Piper? I used her to push the story forward, because the main goal is the Institute, in both Fallout 4 and this story. Anyway, time to get back into the story...Love ya guys!)_

 **Bro** **hoof! /)**


	22. Chapter 20 Alicorn Magic

**Chapter 20** Alicorn Magic

"Cap, I'm gonna wanna talk to you after this meeting," I told him as we entered the Cave Inn.

"I presume about me?" he snickered and held the door for me. Such a gentleman. I rolled my eyes and headed inside.

The downstairs lobby was fully converted into a hotel reception area and we passed the front desk and into the back offices. These areas were still being used as government offices, and I could see a few ponies that DD and Party had enlisted to help run things. Some ponies had already been doing this job for them longer than anypony else, and I saw some of the Double Diamond City guards decked out in their full riot gear guarding some back offices. In each one was an accountant or an official of some sort.

In the back of the building, the deepest recesses of the cave, was the Task Room. I saw Minute Hoof ponies mulling about and all chatting about one thing or another. This room was like an oval office, the meeting place for all things war related. I saw Buck with Double Diamond and Party Favor, along with a mare wearing Minute Hoof attire.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked as the two of us approached.

"He wanted to see the both of us," Capper winked.

"I need every available pony for what I'm about to say," said Buck and he looked over my shoulder to where Ashe Erza was just entering. She was no longer wearing armor, but instead her Fort formals. "Ah good, you're here."

"Indeed I am. I don't think anypony else can make it. I shall relay the proper information to Joy and Heart as soon as possible. They are willing to fight on the front lines if so deemed necessary." Ashe informed everypony.

"Sounds good to me, because we'll need all the help we can get, dudette." DD was just now rejoining the conversation after speaking with the Minute Hoof mare.

"What seems to be the issue?" asked the Colonel.

"Maybelle here was just informing us of an attack in Conquine. If the Minute Hooves can't defend the town the attack will move forward to Sanctuary." Buck said.

The aforementioned Maybelle came to the table, "That's right!" she had a thick cockney accent. "We need ponies in Sanctuary and Conquine as soon as possible. I just finished enlisting the help of these brutish DDC guards, thank all the stars." Maybelle lifted a hoof to her chest and closed her eyes for a moment.

"So, what, you're a Sanctuary representative?" I asked her.

"Oh heavens no! I could never represent Press Peirce." she murmured some insult she didn't think the rest of us heard. "No, I represent Conquine. If my town falls, so will the Minute Hooves fall."

"You hold yourself to a high standard." Ashe Erza scowled at the mare.

"Well, somepony has to. I represent traditional Minute Hoof values! I come from the very first settlement the Hooves ever created." she stamped a hoof and Erza visibly rolled her eyes. She did not like this prissy mare.

"Can somepony please get back on track and explain the problem to me?" I demanded.

"Yes, the problem," Buck turned to me, "the mare attacking Conquine is the Overmare's sister."

"What!?" Ashe Erza bellowed.

"Why is that important?" I asked.

"Priscilla Pen-Rose," Erza said in low tones, her voice going dark. "She disappeared over a year ago from the Stable, before Orange Juice even escaped, and all our sources there tell us they have no idea where she went."

"Well it appears we know now." I said.

"Yes, but according to OJ, she was the only mare in the whole Stable who ever treated him right. It makes no sense that she'd be attacking Conquine." Ashe Erza frowned.

"It would if she happened to be a Magistrate!" Piper came bursting into the Task Room.

"We tried to stop her, sir!" a guard came bustling in behind her.

Another guard said, "She's just so slippery."

"Oh can it ya weasels!" Piper stomped a hoof and the guards backed away.

"What is it, Piper?" DD was shaking his head but he had a smile on his face.

She held up a photo of the so called Priscilla, "This is Prissy before abduction." The photo depicted a light pink mare with big round blue eyes. Her mane was a light pink with blue stripes. "Here's Priscilla after." Piper turned the photo around and we all saw a Priscilla who was standing proud. But her coat was a darker pink in color and her mane had a lot more blue in it. She also wore a black padded jacket, an Institute symbol emblazoned on the front. I recognized it as Twilight's cutie mark with the outline of an eye underneath.

"What are you saying?" Buck asked.

"I'm saying the Institute nabbed her and now she's attacking innocent ponies to find the Institute's next target. She's a Magistrate, it's her job!"

"Okay, okay. We'll look into it when we send a team down there to check it out." Double Diamond said. "For now though, you really shouldn't be in here, pone." he bit his lip, looking uncomfortable as he was forced to kick Piper out.

"Oh come on DD! You of all ponies have to believe me! Your synthetic selves are out there right now doing just as much damage and Faust knows what else!" she called as two guards dragged her out.

"Sorry you all had to see that." Double Diamond said. "She's a good pony, but she can be a bit eccentric sometimes."

"I'll say. I'm kinda living proof that not all synths are bad," Capper adjusted his trenchcoat with a smile on his face.

"So, back to the matter at hoof," said Maybelle. "I do want an answer from the Fort ponies before I return through the gate to help in the efforts to defend Conquine."

"The answer is yes," said the Colonel. "We do not sit back and watch innocent ponies die. Give us some time to gather our wits about us and we will head through the gate to Sanctuary in no time at all." Ashe nodded to Maybelle who returned the nod and we all moved off.

* * *

Capper and I had returned to his windmill, where we were busily packing a few things. I had bought some apple grenades from the town's supply vendor, plus a bunch of ammo for many different guns. You could never be too prepared. Especially for my trusty revolver. I was at the workbench in the far corner of the room as Capper was busily stocking his large trenchcoat with his own supplies.

"So, what did y'all wanna talk to me about?" he asked out of the blue as I was busily filling my extra revolver mags with ammo. I felt my heart sink a little.

"Um…it's kinda complicated."

"I can do complicated." he sat down on the bed, having just put his trenchcoat back on. I turned away from the workbench in the swivel chair and faced him.

"Here's the thing. I get stressed very easily, I'm very anxious. Piper brought something up earlier that kind of scared me, but you always do your best to reassure me and I love that. So without getting mad, can you just reassure me that you're the real Capper and not just a replacement…" I bit my lip.

Capper sat up straight, inhaling a deep breath. "That's a lot to take in all at once. Here's the thing though, the recording on the temple Stable's terminal proves that Achilles and I weren't just replacement copies. I know for a fact that we went into stasis in our real bodies and woke up in our new bodies. Synthesis doesn't work the way Piper thinks it does."

"How does it work? Explain the science."

"It probably wouldn't make much sense to you," Capper sighed, fiddling with the edge of his trenchcoat where I could see a loose thread.

"You forget, I went to school for pretty much all of the above. I'm an Overseer, remember." I winked and he perked up a little.

"Okay. Well see, the process of synthesis isn't a copy. It takes the magical essence of a being out of their physical body and gives them a completely new body, a better body. The old body is disintegrated in the process, the magic is an extremely high temperature. It's based off the same technology as the megaspells."

"Alicorn magic." I nodded.

"You get it!" Capper smiled again.

I got up and went to him. "Of course I get it! Piper may be a good mare but she is a little crazy in the head." I kissed him gingerly and he giggled at my touch.

"You ain't gonna get the better of me, my friend," Capper put his hands on my back, his paws going underneath the vest.

"Oh!?" I kissed him some more and he fell backwards onto the bed. I was above him.

Only for a split second. Capper rolled and was now above me. He had his hands on either side of me and his blue hair fell a little out of its curl as he stared down at me. I poked at his bangs then put my hooves on either side of his face and brought him closer to me. He smiled and kissed me slow. I closed my eyes and fell into it. "I told you, you owed me." I smiled against his lips and he chuckled a little.

"That you did, that you did." he kissed me back and we rolled to our sides, staring deep into each others eyes as we drew away. I loved how his green eyes glowed in the dark.

"I wish we could stay here forever," I sighed against his lips.

"Unfortunately, that ain't the way this world turns." he frowned.

"Capper! Blitzfire!" came a shout from downstairs. It was Pumpkin Spice. "Where are you two?! We're leaving, with or without you and we all prefer with so please come out come out wherever you are!?" I heard her footsteps creak on the stairs.

"We're coming!" Capper shouted. "Looks like we'll have to continue this later." he smiled at me and booped me on the nose.

"See ya outside!" she called up to us and we heard her steps retreat.

* * *

Sanctuary was bustling with energy when we stepped through the gate. Ponies were darting to and fro everywhere and a light in the sky signalled something dreadful. Somepony had set off an alarm and there was noise in the air. Press galloped up to us when we came through in the town square.

"Thank Faust you're all here!" he shouted over the sound. "Conquine has fallen, this is now Broncston's last line of defense. That Magistrate is way more powerful than she looks."

"What's a Magistrate?" Orange Juice asked as we followed Press to the Community Center.

We found Surge there passing out weapons to anypony who could carry one. "Oh good, they're here." he huffed and tried to give us some guns.

"We're good," Buck rose a hoof, "we already have our own guns, but thanks for the offer."

"Surge, mind telling the little pony what a Courser Magistrate is?"

"Oh, Faust, where do I even start?" he looked up toward the cracked porch ceiling, trying to gather his thoughts.

"Let me start," said Mama Madmare.

"Mama, go home, this place is about to be under siege!" Press said to her, his voice raised and in a rush.

"Not until I put in my two sense." she lisped. "Anyway, that Courser you got coming? She ain't just any old Courser is she?"

"Well…" the Guardian looked down at OJ who was busy folding and unfolding his wings, using one hoof to scratch at himself. He looked up when he noticed all eyes on him and froze in place. "We do know her, but I was hoping to…"

"To keep the Prince in the dark on it?" Mama stomped a hoof, clack sound loud against the concrete. "What do you take me for?" she narrowed her eyes at Buck. "Should I tell him then?"

"Tell me what?" OJ looked between the old mare and his Guardian.

"The Magistrate is Priscilla Pen-Rose." Buck sighed. "We didn't want to tell you because we have to take her out."

"You don't have to do anything!" Mama stomped her hoof again.

"Okay, somepony help her get home please!" Press called to somepony in the Community Center.

"Wait, take her out as in…?" OJ watched as somepony came to Mama and tried to calmly explain that she needed to leave.

"I ain't done here!" she snapped. "Blitzfire, you know what needs to be done right?" she turned to me as the other pony continued trying to get her to leave.

"No, I don't honestly."

She finally began walking with her escort, "Just listen to Orange Juice. He knows what he's talking about more often than the rest of you!" she seemed very pissed as she left for her home.

Suddenly there was a huge crash and light from an explosion. "What in Faust's name?" Press galloped forward to the street, going to check it out. We all followed.

There in front of us was the pink mare in her black Institute jacket, but she wasn't alone. With her was a bunch of ashlings and darklings and the light from the artificial sun began to fade away. The ashlings were all smiling and Priscilla was at the head of the group. OJ stepped forward, his eyes wide.

"Prissy?"

 _(Footnote: The only thing I can say is that this has been a little bit sad for OJ. Prissy was the pink mare he referred to in his memories of Stable 28 in Rebel Heart. The mare who always treated him with kindness and respect. She was basically like a mom to OJ and now she's like this...It's all been leading up to the Battle of Conquine and the events that unfold next. I can't wait to get more Chapters up and I hope you guys enjoy!  
P.S. I also hope I explained the synthetic process and Alicorn Magic better. I have so enjoyed transferring Fallout 4 elements to the My Little Pony universe. Okay, love ya guys!)_

 **Brohoof /)**


	23. Chapter 21 A Doomed Friendship

**Chapter 21** A Doomed Friendship

Orange Juice

"Prissy?" I looked at her with wide questioning eyes. Why would the pink mare who'd always been so nice to me suddenly be working with ponies who were so evil?

She looked down on me like I was nothing to her. "I am not the Prissy you once knew. I am Priscilla Pen-Rose, Institute Magistrate. You have infringed upon the laws of friendship, it is time for you all to pay the price."

She didn't even sound like Prissy! Prissy was a nice mare, the only pony in all of Stable 28 who'd cared enough about me to give me a better life. It was the whole reason she'd been banished from the Stable to begin with. This Priscilla was completely different. "What happened to you?" I sniffled.

"Everything happened to me," snarled Priscilla, taking a fighting stance, hooves spread and head down low, her face angry and teeth bared.

"Hey! Stop it!" Pumpkin Spice jumped in front of me, "You're making my best friend cry!"

One by one, my Elemental friends stepped in front of me, to protect me. I saw Blitz follow Pumpkin Spice first, an angry look on his face. Capper followed second, and I really liked that kitty-cat guy and the purple kitty that was with him. My EFS picked up on the profile of the purple one at least. Then the Guardian, who took a protective stance. I wiped away my tears as I saw my friends lining up to defend me. I looked over my shoulder to Ashe, Cherry, Wonder, Heart and Joy. Lastly Combat, who caught my eye.

"Oh fine! I hate the ashlings as much as the next pony." he stepped forward, "I don't know what's wrong with you Prissy, but I'm gonna put you down!" he lugged his gun.

"No don't!" I yelled, but it was too late, my team opened fire. Ashlings and darklings scattered and the light level stayed at a neutral amount. Priscilla was laughing the whole time and as the bullets flew toward her a shield appeared around her. The bullets appeared to bounce right off and she flung the shield away, giving us an evil smile.

"You thought simple weaponry such as that would be enough to stop me? I'm a Courser Magistrate! _I'll end you!"_

A wave of pink energy came toward us and the Guardian yelled, "Scatter!"

Everypony dived out of the way and as I glanced between all my friends, trying to get the attention of at least one, the energy slammed into me, throwing me backward. I fell like a bowling pin into Ashe Erza, who caught me and looked down at me. "Be careful, my Prince." She said as she stared into my upside down eyes. She hoisted me to my hooves.

"I don't want them to hurt Priscilla!" I cried.

"Then I imagine you'll want to tell them, before one of them does something rash," Ashe pointed toward Capper and Pumpkin Spice, who were about to slam some heavy magic mojo on Priscilla. My eyes widened and my wings snapped open as I jumped forward to defend her. Shoving with all my might using my wings, I sprang forward and got in the way of their attack. The pair barely avoided smashing cherry bombs and kitty claws into me.

"What in tartarus are you doing!" somepony yelled, the Guardian I think.

"OJ, watch out!" Wonder shouted.

I was facing my friends, wings snapped open to protect Priscilla. I had a turquoise colored shield around me and her, extending from my horn. "OJ, lower the shield!" Pumpkin poked at it.

"Yeah, what _are_ you thinking?" Capper was slowly backing away, trying to get a better look.

"I'm thinking that without Priscilla, I'd never have made it out of that Stable with any scrap of sanity. She was the best thing that ever happened to me, so I think we can all afford to do the same." I looked among all my friends. Then I saw him, an ashling carrying a white rock. The rock's essence slowly lifted and circled toward me. He was hiding in an alley and none of my friends could see him or the magic. "We need to protect Prissy!" I yelled, trying to use my magic to stop the oncoming ashling magic. It didn't work.

"That's where you're wrong," Priscilla was looming over me and my shields faltered as I turned to face her. "I don't need the protection of anypony else!" a white glow took over her eyes and she slammed a hoof down on me.

"Priss…." my voice trailed away as everything went dark.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"Orange!" I shouted as I saw Priscilla slam a magically enhanced hoof down on our alicorn friend. He passed out from the strength of her attack.

"Now it's time to destroy the rest of you." she snarled, taking a step around the fallen OJ.

"Not if I can help it!" I snapped, and reaching into my pack I pulled out a blue flare. I snapped it and activated the blue flame within, then tossed it toward Priscilla.

"A flare? Really? That can't be all you can do." She stared down at it and started laughing.

"It isn't," I said and a distant thundering sound could be heard. "Welcome to Sanctuary." I smiled as megaspell after megaspell rained down on Priscilla, the energy focused on her from the cannons back at the Castle.

A voice came over the radio station nearby, "We see ya, Sanctuary, we won't let you down." it was Colonel Shaw.

Colonel Ashe Erza ran to the radio booth, "We need the artillery as concentrated as possible on the Courser Magistrate. Keep it up, it's working!"

Priscilla backed away from us, her pink shield magic blinking in and out of existence. She looked worn out. She slowly began to back away, and I saw the ashlings with her doing the same. I narrowed my eyes as I noticed one ashling had a white stone with him. It looked very familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

"This isn't the last you've seen of us," spat one ashling.

"We shall retreat for now, but be warned, more actions against the pillars of friendship will result in your downfall," said Priscilla. Then magic formed around her and the ashlings and they were gone in a flash of light. Left in their place were a couple darklings. Light began to drain from the area again, but they were swiftly taken care of by Pumpkin Spice and Capper.

Just then, OJ was just beginning to come to. "Ugh, what happened?" he asked, blinking up at us.

I reached a hoof out to help him up, "I'm glad you're alright," I told him, beaming.

"I'm glad we're all alright. Where's Prissy?" he asked, looking around.

"She's gone," the Guardian told him.

"Gone?! Where?" he jumped up and started hyperventilating.

"Calm down, OJ! She's not gone, gone!" Pumpkin laughed.

"Oh, that's good!" OJ calmed down.

I stepped forward to where she had been when she disappeared. The previously white stone the ashling was holding was on the ground, resting amongst other pieces of gravel that now looked almost similar in color. The stone was now a dark shade of gray, and it didn't make sense. I picked it up but dropped it immediately, it was hot to the touch. "Do these rocks look familiar to anypony?" I asked.

"Yeah, they kinda do…" Pumpkin said. We were all looking at it now.

"More pieces of nethicite, these ones refined magicite." said Ashe Erza.

"What are they?" the Guardian asked.

Ashe sighed, "They are moonstones. Very dark magic indeed."

"Moonstone?" OJ perked up. "I've heard that before! It um…it's like um…it's like the sunstone that Greenie had!"

"No OJ, they are complete opposites." Erza explained. "Moonstones are pure evil, sunstones can be used either way."

"But…but…" OJ looked down at his hooves.

"It kinda looked like those ashlings may have been controlling Priscilla." I said.

"No, Ravager Blitzfire, it is rather quite the contrary." Erza shook her head. "The stones are manipulated by their users. The fact that three lie dead and dormant here before us is proof that Priscilla Pen-Rose chose this path of her own free will."

"But Prissy would never!" OJ protested. He was pouting and trembling. "She was a good pony! She wouldn't…"

"I'm sorry, OJ, but it looks like she did…" Wonder said, his voice trailing off as it appeared to be upsetting OJ even more.

"Then we have to find her! Try to find out why she's evil now and bring her back to the path of good!" OJ shouted, looking angry at us. I had never seen him this way. He was usually such a happy pony, but now he was just a little ball of anger. He was on the defensive, and if Priscilla was this important to him, I thought maybe it was worth looking into.

Luckily, so did Ashe Erza, "I agree with at least the first part of your statement. We do need to find her, and luckily for us, I can easily track her from these moonstones left behind."

"What about the Minute Hooves?" Press asked, tipping his hat, "Conquine is still in need of assistance. The Magistrate may no longer be there but her ashlings are."

"What doesn't make sense to me is why an Institute Magistrate would be working with ashlings from Bittsberg," Capper was stroking his chin.

Ashe had a stone in one hoof, "Perhaps when you find her, you can ask her yourself." her eyes glowed a brilliant red to match her scarlet mane and she smiled. "Aha! She is somewhere within the Manehattan ruins. I shall take a team with me to Conquine, Guardian, I trust you can handle Manehattan?"

"No problem!" he nodded.

"I recommend we check out the Museum of Witchery." said Capper.

"Why's that?" asked the Guardian.

"Yeah, detective, why is that?" I nudged him and smiled.

"It's the first place I'd look if I were traveling to Manehattan." Capper shrugged.

The Guardian nodded his understanding, "Then looks like you're coming to Manehattan."

"And I shall bring Cherry, Heart and Joy to Conquine." said Ashe. "Wonder, I will have you accompany me as well."

"But!" Wonder began to protest.

"I know you'd like to be with your coltfriend, but this is a journey he and his 5 friends must take alone." Ashe nodded to each of us. Capper stood proudly, I just felt weighed down. Pumpkin was jumping up and down in place, the Guardian was nodding his approval to the Colonel and Combat looked just as bogged down as I did.

OJ's lip was trembling, "I appreciate it Lady Ashe."

Ashe bowed her head, "Not a problem, milord." she smiled and winked at Orange Juice. With that, it was time to head in our own separate directions. Our group went to the Sanctuary train station and Ashe's ducked through the portal to Conquine.

* * *

Orange Juice

You have discovered

MANEHATTAN WEST GATE BRIDGE

Said a message in the upper left of my EFS. We had just gotten off the train at West Gate Station and were now crossing the bridge into Manehattan. Cars and carriages were parked along the road everywhere, a lot of them having crashed as driver's must've lost control, but most of them just abandoned where they'd sat. Manehattan had definitely received the worst of the brunt of megaspells all those years ago. It looked exactly like Bittsberg, a bombed out husk of its former self.

"Elephant graveyard," I murmured beneath my breath as I remembered a book Bookworm had read to me once. It had been about a kitten in a big bad wasteland like world who had to fight a bigger cat to win back the home he'd grown up in. Maybe we were going to have to fight a bigger cat. I looked over at Capper, thinking about it.

"We aren't gonna have to fight any cats!" Pumpkin was bouncing along beside me.

"How do you know what I was thinking about?" I asked her.

"You were muttering things about Bookworm and storybooks under your breath." she told me. "And you don't have to worry, things like that are all fiction. This is the real world! Where we have to fight raiders and ashlings instead!" she smiled gleefully, probably thinking she was helping.

"That's not very reassuring ya know." Capper pointed out.

"It isn't?" Pumpkin creased her brows and tilted her head.

"By any standard, no." he lifted his index.

"We'll be okay!" I told the group. "We have to be!"

"That isn't reassuring either, Orange Juice," Buck started laughing.

"What would be?" Blitzfire shook his head. "I don't look around this city and see any sort of reassurance, so maybe we should just stop looking."

"I won't stop looking for Priscilla! Not until I find her. Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to give up on a friend," I stuck my tongue out at him and he stopped in his tracks. He quickly caught up with the group again.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

Maybe Orange Juice was right. Right about one thing at least. But I didn't like to think about that. I just couldn't help it though, my mind always got the better of me and I had to let myself think about it or I'd never be able to relax…OJ had reminded me of Nexus and how I'd abandoned my mission to find my friend a long time ago. There was nothing I could do now. Or so I thought…

You have discovered

MUSEUM OF WITCHERY

New quest

THE BINX-SABERHAGEN GUIDED TOUR

What that meant, I had no idea. Then I saw a catlord come waltzing out of the museum. We all stopped where we stood, looking at the black cat curiously. "What in the…" Capper was at a loss for words.


	24. Chapter 22 Guided Tour

**Chapter 22** Guided Tour

Capper Dapperpaws

"What in _the_ world?" I said out loud. "I ain't never seen another catlord in Equestria before."

"Hello, all!" said the cat in modest tones. "I've kinda been expecting you for a long time now."

"What I would like to know is, who exactly are you?" I asked him, stepping forward.

"All in due time. It would be much easier to explain if I could show you the book." he gestured for us to follow him and he spun on his heel, his tail twitching. He gathered his brown collared coat about himself and we went with him into the museum. "This place used to be the Sand Sun house. Now it's an old abandoned museum." he spoke as we passed portraits of ponies on the wall.

"Ohhh, _nice!_ " Pumpkin commented as she looked at each painting. "And what are _you_ doing here?"

"Oh, that much is easy." the cat waved his paw and laughed, "Princess Luna appointed me and one other as curators. We come from the same country as Capper and are much older. I've known the Princess for a 100 years, before she disappeared from Equestria 200 years ago at least."

"And nopony thought to tell little ol' me. I'm greatly offended," I shook my head.

"It was actually a secret that Luna never told anypony, for fear that dark forces would one day find reawaken within the home."

"What dark forces may those be?" asked Buck.

"The Sand-Sun Sisters. There are two of them, long since dead and buried, so it hasn't been anything to worry about." the black cat waved us off. He then threw open a set of double doors to reveal a lounge like library where yet another black cat wearing a black and white suit and tie was sitting with a book in hand and a monocle over one yellow eye. Inside the foyer the walls were lined with books. There was a ladder at one end and a huge display case in the center of the room. The second cat was sitting on a red gilded couch, feet up on a huge upholstered oak coffee table.

"Ah, look what the cat dragged in." he said then snickered at his own joke.

"Salem Saberhagen, crude as usual." said our guide.

"Thackery Binx, prude as always." said the cat on the couch. He looked up from what he was reading, "I see you have company. Do you want me to leave?"

"You know I cannot allow that." said Thackery, adjusting his white bowtie.

"Of course you can't!" Salem put down his book, "At least tell me why you have 6 pastel things with you here." he looked around the first cat to peer at all of us. "Oh! My my, another kitty cat." he snickered again, playing with his whiskers.

"What I would like to know is why there's two of you hiding out in an old museum and I was never told about it!" I threw up my paws.

"I would like to know something very similar myself," Salem was holding an ornate hand mirror and glancing at himself before adjusting his black necktie and setting the mirror down. He then looked into my eyes and smiled. "I can see you're not the only kitty-cat here, monsieur."

"No, I am not…" I looked over to Cheshire.

"Very interesting, said the cat to the cat," Cheshire bowed in Salem's direction.

"Oh, I love him!" Salem threw his head back and laughed.

"Do keep yourself collected," Thackery shook his head. He moved off into the room, going to a stand where a large book was entombed in glass. "This is where I've gotten most of my information."

"And yet, you refuse to share it with me," Salem picked up a glass of wine from the coffee table. "We're both immortal beings, stuck in this mansion for oh so many years, and you can't let any of the cats out of any of the bags?"

Everypony was just staring in complete confusion. Pumpkin piped up, "So there's two cats here, right? Not including Capper and Cheshire, of course," she nodded to us.

"Just us two, unfortunately." sighed Thackery, who was making sure the display case containing the book was locked. Then he turned around to face us.

"On that we agree!" Salem tossed back the wine glass and finished the purple liquid. "Oh, that hits the spot!" he hiccuped.

"What do you mean unfortunately?" asked Combat, staring at Salem with a smile. "And can some…cat get me a glass of what he's having?"

"A pony of taste! I'll definitely get you something!" Salem shouted with a smile. "Thackery, get the pony a glass!"

"Of course you never do anything for yourself." Thackery snarled and grabbed the bottle of wine. "How much of this hast thou drank!? It's nearly gone!"

"So, in order to clarify, can I ask what the deal between you two is?" asked Buck, moving into the room further.

"Oh, Salem here is one of two curators, including me. However, he is also a prisoner within these walls. I am his guard dog."

"Don't you mean pussy cat?" Salem giggled.

Thackery raised a fist, "I am no—! Grr, it's of no matter." he sucked in a breath. "While he is a prisoner, I am his warden and therefore I have never been allowed to leave. Until now. The magic lining the walls of this estate are faltering. It is just as I have predicted it to be." he was staring pointedly at Salem.

"Oh, you didn't predict anything you old fart! The book did and you just won't let it on because I'm not allowed to touch the book." he stuck out his tongue when he noticed that Thackery was making a talking mouth with his paw.

"I know it to be true and therefore, I predicted it. The witches are beginning to reawaken. I believe it has something to do with the darklings now roaming the streets of Manehattan at night. Sometime soon, during the witching hour, some evil force is going to attack this manor and reawaken the sleeping sisters and there doesn't seem to be a thing we can do to stop it."

"We could stay here and help prevent it!" Pumpkin Spice twittered.

"What he's saying is, he doesn't think he can prevent it!" Salem rolled his wrist and stared with an amused smile at Thackery.

"Well…no. Not I. But perhaps one of you?" Thackery looked hopefully, his golden eyes shining.

"Possibly," the Guardian mulled, "but we have to know what we're getting into."

"I for one am ready for some action!" Combat Zone said, and he caught the attention of Salem, who looked pleased.

"I have the catalyst for this event hidden away," Thackery informed us. "If the dark forces that are coming have arrived with these darklings, then this is the night the sisters are prophesied to return."

"You haven't hidden the catalyst very well, kitty-catlord. I for one know exactly where it is." Salem said with a wink and a smirk on his face.

"Prove it," Combat smirked back. There was something going on between the two, that much was evident.

"Nopony nor cat is going to prove anything!" Thackery snapped. "The candle is stashed away somewhere nopony outside these walls will ever find it."

"Unless, one of us lets the cat slip." Salem was staring at me now.

"Wha-what?" I glanced around between the three other cats in the room. Cheshire was sitting on the display case and his tail was flicking back and forth like a kitty-clock.

"Oh come on, I'd gladly tell him!" Salem stared at Thackery.

"Tell me what now?" I held up a paw, index raised.

"Ugh, fine! Since it's so completely unavoidable." Thackery rolled his eyes, "The prophecy says two cats working in Harmony are destined to awaken the good sister before the ashes fall upon the grounds and the evil sister emerges. There's only one catch."

"What is it?" asked Blitz.

"It's a ritual born of darkness, so the evil sister is bound to wake up regardless. Which is why nopony, regardless of good intention, is allowed to use the candle." Thackery explained.

"What candle?" I asked.

"Nopony!" Snapped Thackery so loud that even Cheshire jumped.

" _Mrooooow!"_ The purple cat landed on his feet, as all cats tended to do.

"How long until the time for the ritual is past?" asked the Guardian.

"Until sunrise. Only then will Sun be asleep forever, trapping her evil half along with her."

"Then we stay the night." said the Guardian.

"Why are we staying here?" asked Orange Juice, looking lost.

"Any help we could get in protecting the museum against ashling and darkling alike, would be greatly appreciated," Thackery had both paws together, hoping we'd stay.

Combat stepped forward, grinning in Salem's direction, "Oh, I say we stay alright!"

"Then it's settled." said Buck.

"I have to warn you, the museum was shut down before the war was ever a thought in anypony's mind for a reason." Thackery called as we all filtered out of the room.

"Here we go again." Salem rolled his eyes and went to follow Combat Zone.

"Spooky things are bound to happen in the manor! I do hope you'll join me for dinner later tonight." by then we'd all left the room. I had to say, I liked Thackery a lot more than I liked the slobish Salem.

* * *

Combat Zone

The hour was growing late and dinner was starting soon. However, I was a bit too preoccupied with one of our hosts to care. "It's been awhile since I've seen any action. Thackery does so like to keep me cooped up in here," Salem had a paw to his forehead, acting dramatic. I loved it!

I bucked the door closed and moved closer to him. He bumped against the four poster bed, falling onto his rump on the red bedsheets. I reached up, placing on hoof on the bed and one hoof on his necktie. "I'm with ya on that one, buddy. I ain't seen action since I left the Fort." my nose bumped his and he snickered at me.

"Thackery isn't one for one nighters," Salem put his lips against mine and I felt his breath against my muzzle.

I pressed my lips to his, "That so? So you're a bit, inexperienced?" I was reaching up and removing his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. He had already removed his overcoat.

"Oh, far from it!" he kissed me and his shirt came off.

"Good!" I smiled and pushed him onto the bed. "Then what say you and I have a little fun before dinner?"

"I've never done it with a stallion before," he said as he breathed. I watched his stomach rise and fall before I followed his happy trail with my muzzle and grabbed onto the button with my teeth. "Oh!" he giggled.

"I've never done it with a cat before," I felt his bulge and inhaled his musk before undoing the button and letting him slide his pants off. Now he was only in his boxer shorts.

"I haven't even shown you what we're in here for!" Salem gasped as I pressed my face to his crotch.

"You mean…in Thackery's bedroom? It is a bit naughty to do it on the warden's bed." I smirked up at my partner.

Salem sat up, breathing deeply as he grabbed my face and caressed my cheeks. "Don't forget, I know exactly where his candle is."

"Oh, I know exactly someone's candle is," I poked his crotch and he smiled down at me.

"Believe you me, I want it more than anything, but first…" Salem reached for the nightstand drawer and pulled it open. Inside rolling around was a big black candle. "I'd say Thackery got his money's worth on this one!" snickered Salem. He reached for it, then hesitated.

Just then the door was thrown open. "What in Faust's name are the two of you doing in here!" Thackery was wide eyed.

"Oh no, looks like we've been found out!" Salem had the drawer closed just as fast as it had opened.

"And we were just getting to the good part," I smirked.

"Oh by the Moon, gross!" Thackery shooed us from his bedroom. Salem had to hop as he pulled his pants back up. I saw Thackery check the nightstand before the two of us left. He was very concerned with that candle.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"Now that I've made sure Salem isn't anywhere near that candle, how would you two like a tour?" Thackery came bustling into the library where Capper and I had been making out. "Oh my!" Thackery's eyes widened.

"Sorry," I said, blushing.

"I suppose, don't be." Thackery adjusted his overcoat. "Anyway, how does a guided tour sound?!" he boasted.

"That actually sounds great!" Capper smiled.

"Okay, we have until dinner time. I just want to make sure nopony goes into the basement without me." Thackery turned around and we followed him out of the room.

"What's in the basement?" I asked him.

"The final resting place for the Sand-Sun sisters."

"Wait, this place is built on a gravesite? No wonder spooky things happen here!" Capper pulled his trenchcoat further up on his shoulders. "I've never been one for haunted houses anyhow."

"No one quite is," Thackery said as we entered the dining hall. To the far end was an enormous fireplace. "The witches preferred to brew their potions in separate areas of the house towards the end of their lives. This grand hall is Sunlight's Corner. She was the good witch."

"If she's so good, why wouldn't we want to wake her up? Especially now, with the state Equestria is in?" I asked.

"Because Sand-Ra would also wake up with her. She was the reason the two sisters were put to death."

"Put to death? There was a death sentence in Equestria?" we began to traverse over to the kitchen area which from where we stood with Thackery holding the door open, it looked a little dusty but otherwise well kempt.

Just then there was a loud crashing sound and from above the ceiling seemed to shatter away. It was a huge skylight that was just now crashing down on us! "Blitzy, watch out!" Capper jumped toward me, in the process knocking Thackery over. Capper just narrowly saved my life, as a huge glass shard hit the marble floor right where I had been standing.

"What the hell?!" I shouted.

Thackery's eyes widened when he saw that the commotion had knocked a number of candles off the table. He was scrambling, "No, no, where is it?! Why are all the candles here dark in color?" he set them all down on the table.

"Can we deal with that later? I almost died!" I shouted.

"What's all the racket in here?" Pumpkin came bouncing into the dining hall. "Oh my! The stars are so pretty! Nice skylight." she beamed at us.

"It used to be a nice skylight," said Thackery, "and I am so, so sorry that happened. The place is old. Is everypony okay?" at least he'd stopped worrying so much about the candles.

"I'm okay! I just got here!" Pumpkin cheered. "What happened."

"The glass ceiling nearly cut me in half!" I stomped a hoof. Near my horseshoe was a piece of glass, a reflection of Thackery in it. The black cat moved away from the table in that moment and the reflection went away. A lit candle was depicted on the broken piece of glass. I creased my brows but didn't say anything.

"I'm going down to the basement, if anypony would like to join me!" Pumpkin bounced off.

"If you two would like to continue the tour…" Thackery tried to steer us back on track.

"I'd rather not." I told him. "Capper and I are heading back to the library."

"I could do for a good sit down before we eat."

"Very well," Thackery nodded. "I'll prepare for us something good to eat."

* * *

Pumpkin Spice

"La la la la la, la la, la la!" I was humming a Hearthswarming tune to myself when I came upon the stairs for the basement. Oh Faust how I loved to explore. I skipped my way down each step as I sang merrily to myself. I wish Orange Juice was with me!

"But I am with you!" I heard his voice coming from the bottom of the steps.

"OJ?" I tilted my head and my bouncing came to a stop halfway down. I heard giggling. It sounded like him but he sounded far away. "I could've sworn…" that he had gone with the Guardian to make up a bedroom for the night…

"Follow meee!" I heard him calling me.

"Now that's just plain creepy mister!" I said when I reached the L-split corridor at the bottom of the stairs. The only way to go was left.

Torches lit the way here and I came to a set of doors. One was double doors on the far wall and one was a door that appeared to go into a room to the right. "Now which one do I choose?"

"I think right is always wrong…" Orange Juice said as the first set of double doors creaked open. He was still nowhere in sight.

I gulped, "If you say so Orange Juice." my heart began to pound in my throat instead of my chest.

It was dark in this hallway and I had to light a flare. "Orange Juice, where are you?"

"I'm over here!" I saw a shadow dart across the way. A door slammed in the distance. I jumped with a yelp.

"OJ, if you're trying to scare me, it isn't funny anymore."

"Oh, I know that, silly." the voice sounded like it came from right behind me and I was startled into a gallop.

"OJ, _where are you?!"_

* * *

Orange Juice

"You like this room?" the Guardian asked me. I saw a bed with huge black bed sheets and comforter. There were so many pillows on it I thought I might drown in them. I was already sinking as I climbed up and seemingly floated amongst the sea of softness.

"Hehe," I giggled.

"I can see that you do." the Guardian turned from me. "It should be fine if I leave you here then?"

" _OJ, where are you?!"_ I heard Pumpkin Spice scream.

"What was that?" I looked around, hopping off the bed.

"What was what?" asked the Guardian, turning back to me.

"I heard Pumpkin Spice scream."

The Guardian furrowed his brows, "There's no way you could've heard her scream, she went to explore the basement hours ago."

"So then, she's all the way downstairs?" I inquired.

"Yes, there's no way in Equestria you could've—" Just then a blood curdling scream was heard, and it sounded like Pumpkin Spice. "—heard her scream…" his voice trailed off.

"Come on!" I bolted past him, "We have to help her!"

 **OOO**

We all met at the head of the stairs, where Pumpkin Spice came galloping up them. "Pumpkin, are you okay?" I asked her and she landed on me in a huge embrace.

"Oh, Orange Juice it was terrifying! I tried to laugh in the face of danger, but I couldn't face it! You were down there and then you weren't and a monster was chasing me! It was like a nightmare!" she glanced back down the stairs and shut her eyes like there was something still there. She heaved a breath, "I'm not having a nightmare, right? I didn't go to bed and fall asleep without realizing and this is all just some big bad dream?"

"No Pumpkin. What did you see down there?" the Guardian asked.

"I'd love to know the same," Capper said.

"Me three!" Blitzfire exclaimed. Combat Zone still hadn't shown up, so his commentary was absent.

Just then a dinner bell sounded and Thackery could be heard. "Dinner time!"

* * *

Guardian

Combat Zone and Salem came to the Sunlight Dining Hall looking as though they'd just stumbled out of bed. Combat's mane was frizzy and amuck and Salem was missing his tie, his overcoat and white collared shirt askew and not fully buttoned. His dark chest plume was puffing out. He had a sly smirk on his face as he sat down at the table and Combat sat next to him. I don't know if I liked that cat, there was something off about him.

"Dinner, is served!" Thackery lifted the lid to an entré platter. There was a huge stack of hay, freshly marinated in vinaigrette and lettuce as garnish. On the side dish platters were fancy tunas and catnip.

"Oh, I absolutely _love_ fancy tuna!" Salem gave a little applaud.

"Ah, ah!" Thackery wacked Salem's paws away from the food. "It is customary for one of our guests to light the candles before we begin our meal. Who would like to do the honors?"

Capper seemed to be preoccupied with something as he came to the table but when nopony spoke up, he glanced around. "Oh, how about I do it!" he said before he even sat down.

"Well, you are the only one standing besides me," chuckled Thackery. "I would be honored to have you light the candles." there was something strange about Thackery's smile.

Capper took the first lit candle and lifted it to the wicks of the others. Every candle on the table was made of a black wax. Suddenly, Thackery's eyes widened and he shouted, "Wait!" but by then it was too late. Capper had lit the last candle and the flame sparked up. It roared high and everypony at the table jumped up. The flame then burned a dark black.

"The Black Flame Candle…" said Salem… "Of the Dark Demon Fires we burn our brightest dark. Come one come all to the dinner party of the damned…It's me! By Faust I've been trapped prisoner here by…" he looked around and jumped up. "Everypony! Stop Thackery, he's going for the book!"

"Wait what?" Pumpkin had her head tilted. We were all very confused.

"You might want to explain yourself." I snapped. I knew something was fishy the moment we stepped through these doors.

 _(Footnote: Ooohh, creepy huh? Pumpkin Spice here! How's everypony doing, hope you're not too frightened._

 _In upcoming chapters I plan on expanding this story arc, so be excited for that. Did you guys catch the House on Haunted Hill vibes? Probably not as much as you caught the Hocus Pocus vibes. Keep on reading, more to come! Love ya!)_

 **Brohoof /)**


	25. Chapter 23 Dinner Party of the Damned

**Chapter 23** Dinner Party of the Damned

Ravager Blitzfire

"He's going to reawaken the sisters if we don't stop him!" Salem leapt up.

"Isn't that what's supposed to happen?" I asked him, feeling a bit flustered by the sudden change in events.

"No! The Black Flame Candle was supposed to restore my memories once it was lit by one of pure heart. I'm not the evil one, he is!"

"Our sex said otherwise," Combat waggled his brows at Salem.

"There can be nothing said for that, but you are correct, it was rather enjoyable." Salem winked at Combat.

"So that's why there were pods down there in the basement." Pumpkin said.

"Pods?" the Guardian turned on her.

"Oh you know, those weird pod thingies that synthetics live in before they get woken up." she twirled a hoof through her poofy orange mane.

"And you didn't think to tell us this!" I snapped.

"It would've done nicely if you had," added Capper.

"Guys, why do we sit and argue! If we don't reawaken Sunlight before Thackery wakes Sand-Ra, we'll be screwed!" Salem shouted. "He's working with the ashlings!"

"Then we best get a move on!" the Guardian stood up. "Come on OJ, lets go stop that cat."

"I do hope we've made it in time. You all sat like idiots while I explained the problem." Salem rolled his eyes as we all ran to the library.

"That's not very nice." Pumpkin said.

"Listen, I may not be evil, sweetheart, but I'm not a nice kitty either. I don't appreciate my 200 year sentence in this shitty prison of a manor. Thackery has poor taste in pretty much everything."

"I'm with ya there! Why is everything so shiny? It hurts my eyes," Orange Juice commented on the gold adorning almost everything.

"Exactly! Cat's can see in the dark, we don't need all this shiny extra plating on everything." Salem called. Then we came to the doors. "By Faust, he's sealed us out."

"How do we get in?" asked Pumpkin.

"Only Luna's magic was powerful enough to lock the two of us in here. She had to when Thackery cast a seal on my mind and made me think I was the evil one. Only an alicorn can break this lock."

"Good thing we have an alicorn," Orange Juice stepped forward. "Oh, my EFS labels this as a master seal. I've never seen a master lock before."

"It's higher than a hard lock," said the Guardian.

"You can do it OJ!" Pumpkin encouraged him.

"You're gonna have to," Salem said, growing more concerned by the second.

"Don't put too much pressure on him." I said.

"I'm just a bit worried here that he's not gonna make it in time." Salem rolled his eyes.

Combat nuzzled him, "You know who could make it in time? It's too bad I'm not the _alicorn._ "

"Oh you!" Salem giggled.

The lock made a loud fizzle noise and then there was a small explosion as the doors burst inward. "You're too late!" Thackery yelled as he read from the book. "From darkest corners come greatest fears, I call upon the ancient magic of my peers. Rise and wake from your slumber below, I call to you from the tallest willow! Sand-Ra!" the whole house began to shake.

Salem dove forward as green magic flowed forth from the book. "I've got it!"

"No!" Thackery yelled.

"Get him off me!" Salem shouted. "There's only room for one party horse, you dolt!" Salem kicked Thackery in the crotch. Thackery doubled over and fell to his knees.

"That's right!" Combat cheered. "Kick em where it hurts!" he dove forward, pouncing on Thackery.

"You're much too late, I can tell you that." Thackery stared up at Combat with a sneer.

"From lightest alleys come greatest wishes, I call upon the ancient magic of…fishes? That can't be right… um…Rise and wake from your sleep down under, I call to you from this deep dark plunder. Sunlight!" a red magic shot forth from the book and the shaking stopped. Then Salem shoved the book into Capper's paws. "Keep this safe!"

"We're home!" came a sing songy voice from the Entrance Hall.

"Yeah, great, we're home. And what are we home to? The walls lined with magic meant to trap us all here." two unicorn mares came into the library.

"And to whom do I owe this awakening?" said the white mare.

Pumpkin's eyes widened, "It's them!" she whispered loudly.

"Ah, Thackery, there you are my precious kitty witty!" said the orange mare.

"You really shouldn't treat him like that." the white mare rolled her eyes.

"I woke you up! I remembered the book!" Thackery punched Combat in the face and shoved him away, jumping to his feet.

"Resourceful as always. And to whom do I owe the lighting of the Black Flame?" the orange mare spun around and I saw her cutie mark was a huge painted lined eye on top of a bright orange disk.

"I lit the candle, at dinner!" Capper called to her.

"Oh great, my spell actually worked, and it had to be an idiot that did it." the white mare rolled her eyes and flipped her black bangs. She had the outline of a sun on her hip, as though a foal had drawn it on a scrap of paper.

"What spell was that, exactly?" Capper asked them.

"Oh ya know, the one that wakes up both good and evil in order to revive us both?" the white mare stared at him with a scowl.

The orange mare circled round, licking her lips, "And who's familiar might you be delectable one?"

"I am neither delectable nor a familiar, but my coltfriend is right over there." he pointed a thumb at me.

"He doesn't seem to be attached to anypony," said Thackery. "He acted of his own free will."

"Pure of heart, Sunlight." Salem nodded to the white mare.

"Oh, how nice, a pure of heart kitty-cat finally woke us up. And what year is it?"

"It's 207 AM." Pumpkin Spice said.

"Pumpkin!" the Guardian hissed.

"What? They seem harmless enough!" Pumpkin protested.

"AM?" asked Sunlight.

"After the megaspells, she means." said Thackery.

"Dear, we are far from harmless. Do you know how old we are?" said the orange mare, who I now assumed was Sand-Ra.

"We are from the time of alicorns, when this little house resided in a place called Salem, Shetlachusetts." said Sand-Ra.

"What is it now, may we ask?" asked Sunlight.

"Little Salem, Manehattan." said Salem in response.

"Well look at that, you're little Salem." she rolled her eyes. "Where is Luna? I must talk to her about freeing the two of us at once."

"About that…" Thackery looked around at all of us uncomfortable. "The only alicorn that I've seen in about 200 years is this here little orange fellow."

Orange looked around, "Can somepony tell me what's happening here?"

"Oh, I can tell you dear. How about you stay a spell, and take a listen to my song," giggled Sand-Ra.

"There will be no singing!" Sunlight stomped a hoof.

"But dear sister, have you forgotten? The Black Candle only burns until the sun comes up. Then we both die. Unless!"

"Unless an alicorn frees us. And in order to free one, he must free us both. So then alicorn prince, you have a choice to make. Free one good witch and free an evil one in turn, or free nopony and you kill not just two ponies but their familiars along with them?" Sunlight stared pointedly at Orange Juice.

"Wait, hold on now y'all. You're saying the only two catlords beside Cheshire and my brother that I've seen in 100 years are going to die if Orange Juice doesn't free not one, but both of you?"

"By sunrise, yes," said Sunlight.

"Why will they die?"

"Oh, that's simple dear," Sand-Ra smiled in glee, "they are our familiar's, they are bound to us by deep blood magic. If we die, they die. How do you think they've lived for more than 300 years? They aren't synths."

"But if you two are synths then you must be immortal, like the sisters, like me!" Capper argued.

"Our synthesis was born of the first ever synthetic magic." Sunlight explained. "We are not true synths. Luna was supposed to wake us up when she discovered the cure for our plight. Alas, I see no Luna. Only this oaf."

"I am not an oaf!" OJ shouted.

"He sure looks like an oaf to me," said Salem behind a paw, making Combat laugh.

"Ah, I see you two have shared feelings," Sunlight smiled at Salem.

"What?!" Combat gasped, "How in Equestria could you possibly know that?" he was blushing.

"Blood Magic doesn't just tie us physically, we're empathetically tied as well." said Sunlight.

"So you two share their emotions?" I asked.

"Yeah, and right now, Thackery is pretty worried he made a mistake tying his allegiance to the evil witch." Sand-Ra turned on him. "How long have you thought me evil, cretin?" she glared daggers at him.

"For as long as Luna had us imprisoned here. I thought Sunlight was a good witch and that you were evil. Why else did you curse Salem with forgetfulness?"

Sand-Ra facehoofed, "You have got to be kidding me! Now dears, disregard everything Thackery has told you. I'm not evil! Sunlight is!"

 **OOO**

"Now I'm just confused." I frowned. "First Thackery tells us that he's the good cat and Salem's evil, and that Sand-Ra is evil and Sunlight is good."

"Then, Salem tells us he's good and Sunlight is good, and that the two of you are evil." Pumpkin continued for me.

"Now you're telling us you're good, and Sunlight is evil?" The Guardian finished.

"It's all in the Book of the Damned," said Sand-Ra. "If you'll just give it here, I can read it for you."

"There will be no reading!" Sunlight snapped, "You must not let her have that book. She is the evil one! Give it here, I'll prove it to you!"

"Now hold on just a minute," Capper hugged the book tight. "How do I know y'all are telling me the truth? You're both sayin' the same thing and I know a trick when I see it."

"You obviously don't." Sunlight rolled her eyes and held out a hoof.

"I imagine you wouldn't know a trick if it hit you in the face," Sand-Ra took a step forward.

"I'm not likin' either of your tones. And I know a perfectly good trick anytime. I used to be a con artist." Capper stood proud and opened the book.

"No!" Thackery yelled, "Opening it is what corrupts the mind!"

"I agree! I'd close that book at once!" Salem yelled.

"You both used it and appear to be just fine!" Capper shouted as orange magic spilled from the pages.

"No! It won't affect us, we are familiars. You have no such bond!" Thackery shouted and pounced on him. The two cats went rolling and the book flew from Capper's hooves. Both sisters lunged for it.

"Ooohhh," Pumpkin was in awe as the book tumbled and flipped in the air. She caught it and the pages shut.

"Give it here, mare." said Sand-Ra.

"Don't demand, ask nicely." Sunlight held out a hoof. "Pretty please with a cherry on top, give it to me?" she didn't sound very sincere.

"Hey!" shouted Orange Juice and everypony stopped. "I'm the alicorn here! It's up to me, not you. Kitty-cats, how do we do this Blood Magic thingie so Capper can read the book?"

"Smart thinking." said Sunlight.

"Yeah, I'm proud OJ." the Guardian beamed at the Puppydog.

Thackery spoke up, "You need the ceremonious knife from the basement." he was frowning, and looking over to Salem it was clear that neither cat liked the prospect of going down there.

"What's wrong with the basement?" I asked them.

"There's a monster down there!" yelled Pumpkin Spice.

"Something beyond your worst nightmares." said Sunlight.

"Something beyond even _my_ worst nightmares!" cried Sand-Ra.

"Why do you think there are barrier spells placed on this house? Everything tied to the foundation by morning will be dead. Including that dark, dark creature. It's why we've told you to stay out of the basement." said Salem.

"Oh, I thought it was because Sand-Ra and Sunlight were sleeping down there." Pumpkin said.

"That too." said Thackery.

"Well, in order for me to make up my mind, Capper needs to read from the book," said OJ. "So it looks like we go down there, as a team. We can face whatever it is."

"I'll have to come, only I know where it is," said Thackery.

"I'll be coming too, if only to keep an eye on you." Salem stared Thackery down.

"And to think it was I keeping an eye on you all these years." he said with a sigh.

The basement was cold and I shivered as we made it to the bottom of the giant stone staircase. I was glad that I was wearing a vest and I'm sure Capper was happy for his trenchcoat. I imagined that the Guardian's exo-suit was insulated and possibly even heated. Pumpkin looked happy to wrap her scarf tighter around herself. However, anypony that didn't have any extra clothing items on were probably freezing.

"So, the cold air isn't normally on and I think it's going to cause a problem." Thackery had his paws drawn inside the sleeves of his brown overshirt.

Salem was shivering, "Someone needs to turn up the heat, I only have my 9 lives you know and I don't plan to lose one by freezing to death."

Thackery stopped and turned to us, "We won't get any further if somepony doesn't turn on the heat. We're going to need to split up."

"What?!" Pumpkin gasped, "Why do we need to split up?"

"Because the boiler room is either left, or right, at the next intersection. Neither of us has been down here in a very long time." Thackery explained.

"I don't like this, I really don't and I hope you all know that in any horror movie, splitting up is the worst thing you can do!" Pumpkin shouted.

"I'll lead one group, Salem can lead the other. We both know our way, once we can get our bearings." Thackery told us.

"Perhaps when we turn on the heat, we can cast some fire on the torches too?" Salem asked, staring at the book in Capper's paws.

"I can't read this until we get that dagger, and I most certainly won't be giving it to you until I can read it."

"Damn." Salem snapped his fingers but his smile did not go away. "It was worth a shot."

"Moments like this, I wish I had Tip and Rig with me," said Combat Zone. "They could cast some fire magic for us."

"Wait a minute!" Pumpkin said out of the blue. "We've all got our own magic, right? We're the Elements of Harmony for Celestia's sake!" She smiled and pulled out a cherry bomb.

"Pumpkin no!" we all shouted as she took it and slammed it down on the floor. Instead of an explosion however, lines of flickering, flaming light shot out and the three nearest torches all lit into life.

"Huh, I was not expecting that." said Thackery. "You're all magic users, even the earth ponies?"

"That's right!" OJ yipped.

"So then, any of you could be bound to Capper, not just the alicorn…the plot thickens!" Thackery smiled. "Alright. I'll take Capper to find the dagger, anypony who'd care to join, speak up now. The rest of you will go with Salem to find the boiler room."

Salem was digging through a satchel he had brought along. He kept pulling out random objects that made no sense to carry around. "That's not it!" he pulled out a frog, who croaked, before he tossed it aside and it jumped away into the darkness. "This isn't it either…" he tossed a blue ball away and it seemed to bounce in whatever direction it wanted before being invisible in the darkness. "Ah! Here it is!" he pulled out a large piece of parchment paper.

"He had a frog in his inventory," Pumpkin snickered as we all drew closer.

"This is a map of the basement." Salem said. "I can use it to find the boiler room, but I'll need at least two ponies with me. It's a three person job to get the heat working again.

Buck spoke up, "I'll go with Thackery and Capper to find the knife."

"I'll go with Buck!" said OJ.

"I'm with Capper," I said.

"I'll go with Salem," said Pumpkin gleefully. "I like him!" she couldn't contain her giggles.

"I'm definitely sticking with Salem," Combat Zone smirked in the cat's direction and Salem stuck his tongue out.

"I'd be happy to have _you_ along any day." Salem winked at him.

"You all better take a witch's stone." Thackery said, passing us all small rocks. "Just in case we get separated, use its magic to protect yourselves."

"What does it do?" Pumpkin Spice asked.

"They produce pure light magic, to protect against any darkness. Not even a darkling can suck in the light of a witch's stone." Thackery said. We each took one and with that, we all went our separate ways at the intersection up ahead…

* * *

Pumpkin Spice

"So what's so important about turning the heat back on?" I asked Salem as I bounced along beside Combat Zone. The black cat was just up ahead of us, leading the way.

"For one it's freezing cold down here, I absolutely hate the cold. Can't believe I have to be the one to deal with this heat issue."

"Thackery did seem to know more about the dagger than you did…" I bit my lip and stopped bouncing.

"For the _other_ thing, the creature that lives down here feeds off of negative energy. The cold air causes a lot of negative emotions, which is why we're all so irritable." Salem told us then stopped and turned around. "We should be getting close to the boiler room…" his voice trailed off. "Where's Combat?"

"He's right here beside me!" I looked around and noticed that Combat was missing. "Combat?" I jumped about, looking to see if he may be nearby in the permeating darkness, but I don't think he was. "He's not behind this shadow!" I said as I returned to Salem's position. But Salem seemed to be gone too…

"Hello?" I called and wandered into a nearby room. In here was a huge furnace with coal in it but no fire. I also saw a few tables nearby, workbenches I imagined. Then there was a huge chain link fence between here and two huge vats. "I think I just found the boiler room."

Just then there was a shadow. "Who's there?!" I looked up and on a catwalk above the vats was Combat Zone. I felt scared, so lifting my witch's stone and activating its light, I rushed forward. "Combat? What are you doing?" I bounced along and shoved open the gate dividing the boilers from the furnace. As the light grew closer to Combat he shielded his eyes and fell into the vat. "Combat Zone!" I shrieked and went up after him, sticking my hooves into the cold water and trying to save him. My witch's stone sat beside me, the light fading as it lost contact with my magic…

* * *

Orange Juice

I was shivering as we followed Thackery deeper and deeper into the depths of the basement. "I don't like this place," I said as I lit the way forward with my horn. Thackery was just ahead of me.

"Well, when an ancient darkling runs free from a nexus, there's bound to be spooky occurrences. There's also a spell in that book that can banish him."

"We're not giving you the book." said Buck. "Who's him? You speak of him like you know who he is."

"He is a darkling from the time of alicorns." said Thackery in response. "The first darkling. He woke up when Ritual of the Moon woke up his darklings. It's trying to escape the house to rejoin the darklings in the ranks of the Circle of Ash. He can't be allowed to escape which is why we need that book to be read by a witch's familiar."

"And you're sayin' I can become a witch's familiar by a blood ritual?" asked Capper.

"Yes, you can bond yourself to a magic using pony to become their familiar and then it will be impossible for you to become corrupted by the book's evil magic."

"So neither you nor Salem are evil, are you?" Blitz asked him.

"No! Finally, somepony gets it!" Thackery threw up his paws. Then he stopped in his tracks. "Something's wrong."

"What is it?" I asked.

"The Woogyman has ahold of one of your friends. We need to hurry!"

* * *

Combat Zone

I was lost in the darkness but when I lifted my witch's stone a brilliant white light shone forth. Up ahead I saw Salem, with his own witch's stone. "Oh thank Faust," I rushed forward.

"Combat! The Woogyman is nearby, we must be quiet." Salem had a finger to his lips.

"Whatever you say, sexy," I winked and we kissed when we got close. Salem smirked at me.

" _Combat Zone!"_ came a shriek from Pumpkin Spice that sounded close by. We broke apart instantly.

"She's in some serious shit," Salem spun around and lifted his witch's stone high. "This will keep the darkness at bay. Follow me."

We came across a doorway that was labelled Boiler Room by a huge iron sign.

"This place is old, isn't it?"

"Older than me!" Salem nodded and we ducked inside the room.

Past a chain link fence and atop a cat walk was Pumpkin Spice, hooves deep in the waters of a huge vat. She was splashing about, and I had no idea what the fuck was wrong with her to think I was inside there. "Pumpkin Spice, what in tartarus are you doing?!" I called up to her.

"Wait…" she looked up. "If you're down there, then who's…?" suddenly a pair of hooves shot up from inside the vat and latched onto Pumpkin Spice. She screamed a blood curdling scream.

Salem held up his witch's stone and rushed forward. "Repeat after me everypony! I am light, I am one too strong to fight, now be gone from my sight as I cast this spell in plight!"

Pumpkin was pulling away from the vat with all her might. "I am light, I am one too strong to fight, now be gone from my sight as I cast this spell in plight!" she shouted. I repeated the phrase too. The three witch's stones in the room flared up in brilliant magic. The hooves inside the vat retracted and Pumpkin flew backwards, crashing into the wall behind her.

"Now grab your witch's stone and don't even think of putting it down! What the hell were you thinking?" Salem snapped.

Pumpkin joined us in the main room after climbing down from the catwalk. "I…I saw Combat fall into the vat…"

"Pumpkin…" I sighed. "It's not her fault, Salem."

"How do we defeat that thing?" Pumpkin asked.

"We start by reactivating the flame in the furnace. The Black Flame Candle upstairs has most of the control, but once we read the full banishing spell from the book, that thing will lose its grip on all of us and we can leave freely."

"I hate ponies that think they can control everypony else around them." I snarled.

"For awhile you did exactly that," Pumpkin stuck her tongue out at me.

"Yeah, and for awhile I hated myself." I rolled my eyes. "Let's just get this fire started so we can get on with our lives."

"I feel you there." Salem nodded and he lifted his stone once more…

* * *

Capper Dapperpaws

Thackery opened a door at the end of the long hall and a flickering light shone from within. "Ah, here we are, the store room." inside were shelves and shelves of scrolls and candles and other random things that looked like potion ingredients. On a center pedestal was a dagger on a stand. It was black with red veins.

"That thing don't look safe." I pointed at it and pursed my lips to the side in skepticism.

"Don't worry, all familiars go through the same process. Now, who would you like as your witch?"

"Me of course!" Blitzfire said.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." I smiled down at him and he returned it.

Suddenly the candles in the room burnt out in a huge gust of wind. It grew terribly dark. "Witch's stones now!" Thackery snapped. We all rose our stones and the light filled the room. Outside on the threshold was a billowing blackness. It was trying to push its way into the store room but the light from our stones kept it at bay.

"These stones won't last forever if that persists!" Thackery shouted. "Give me the book, please, I can help you!"

"That isn't gonna happen. Just tell me what needs to be done." I hugged the book close.

"If you don't trust me, you won't become Blitz's familiar. Somepony needs to read a spell from the book or this can't happen." Thackery was out of breath.

Slowly I let myself unwrap my arms and give him the book. "You better be right about this."

"You just have to trust me…" he took the book. "Grab the dagger and cut your palm. Blitz will need to do the same, under his horseshoe, then as I read the spell, you must grip each other's respective hands, hooves." Thackery was frantically flicking pages. As he did so I noticed that the light from everypony's witch's stones began to fade away. "There's a spell in here somewhere to banish that monster, but only the bond of a witch's familiar can cast it. Ah, the familiar spell. Grip hands now!"

I sliced my paw and winced as I did so. Blood dripped onto the floor. The black pulsating mass in the doorway was pushing forward and the Guardian's light went out. "Hurry!" he shouted and dropped his stone.

"Mine's about to go out…!" Orange Juice cried.

Blitzfire sliced his hoof and I grabbed on. "Now!" I said to Thackery.

"Under the light of witch's stone we call upon this witch's favor. I wish for this lasting bond to savor!" Thackery read. "Sorry, I had to tweak some of the words for the circumstances so it's going to sound weird."

A light spread from where we held onto each other. "It's working, keep going." Blitz said.

"A witch and his familiar, a bond to last, don't fail me now, this spell I cast!" Thackery shouted and a violet red light exploded forward. The color of Blitz's magic. I felt it intermingle with my own purple magic and Cheshire was lifted up.

"This feels rather odd, but I do like the rhyming." Cheshire smiled as the violet magic encircled him.

"Whoa!" Blitz's eyes widened as he saw Cheshire there.

"What? What's happening?" asked Orange Juice.

"Only the witch and his familiar can see what is happening to them in this moment." Thackery said. "The spellcaster can as well and it is spectacular, I must say."

"Spectacular is an understatement, black one!" Cheshire was smiling as he floated down to the floor. "Give Cappy the book, he can now cast the spell."

Thackery handed me the book. "You can open to the page the banishing spell is found, but only Blitz can cast it. You two must work together."

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"Can you see me now?" the Cheshire Cat was floating in front of me.

"I can see you…" my EFS showed him as a brightly colored purple cat, and it was hard to look at but he was a cat all the same. "But how? Capper isn't using magic right now."

"I can explain what's happening later, but time is of the essence!" Thackery exclaimed.

"Here, I'll let Cheshire hold the book. He seems to be the middleman in our connection to each other," Capper handed the book to Cheshire.

"Whoa! How are you doing that? It's just floating there!" Orange Juice was wide eyed.

"Actually, Cheshire is holding it," I looked over to him who held it in front of me.

"Only the familiar can touch the book and open its pages, remember." Thackery warned.

"Okay…" I said slowly as Cheshire flipped through the pages. "Slow down a little please." spell after spell flashed before my eyes but there was nothing about banishing a Woogyman.

"What am I looking for?" I asked Thackery as I continued reading.

"I am light, I am one too strong to fight…" Thackery recited.

"There! Go back!" I shouted and the Cheshire Cat did so. I read aloud. "I am light, I am one too strong to fight…"

"Everypony, hold up your stones and repeat after him!" Thackery commanded. They did so.

" _I am light, I am one too strong to fight. Now go away and leave my sight, and take with you this endless night!"_

The witch's stones all flared up at once, so did the candle flames in the room and their was a loud shrieking sound from the billowing mass of darkness as it screamed and shrank away. The air suddenly grew very warm and we watched as the torches in the hallway all lit one by one. The darkness was still fighting back.

" _I am light! I am one too strong to fight! Go away and leave our sight! Take with you this endless night!"_ we all shouted in sync and the shrieking grew louder still. Then a huge gust of wind swept through the area and all the flames flared up. The Woogyman was no more.

"We did it!" Thackery whooped. "Now, let's go check on the sisters, they should be cured of their evil afflictions."

* * *

We all met up upstairs in the library where we found the two mares talking in hushed tones. "Ponies!" Sand-Ra gasped. "You have saved us!"

"Looks like it." Sunlight rolled her eyes. "I suppose I owe you all my gratitude."

"What happened to you two?" I asked them.

"The Woogyman took control of our minds and forced us to use the book without the help of our familiars. Luna trapped us all in this house, promising to return and save us, but she never did." Sand-Ra explained.

"Whoop-di-do." Sunlight said. "I wonder what ever did happen to the princess? I have a few words I'd like to exchange with her."

"She hasn't been seen in Equestria for over 200 years." said Buck. "You guys do know a war happened while you were stuck in stasis?"

"Wait, you're saying this Prince Orange Juice is the only alicorn left in Equestria?" Sunlight narrowed her eyes.

"I am not so forward as my sister, but even I have doubts," Sand-Ra frowned.

"Well get used to it. The past is the past! I don't like being treated like a child." Orange Juice snapped.

"Okay! Faust! I'm sorry." Sunlight held up a hoof in defense.

"I am sorry too…you must be a very powerful pony to be granted Prince status and we apologize for the disrespect." Sand-Ra said. "May we be freed from these bonds now? Before all four of us die?"

"Yeah, I've already proven myself. What more could you need?" Thackery said.

"I for one would love to see the outside world." Salem smiled smugly and Combat smirked in his direction.

"I bet you would," Combat winked.

"Well OJ? It is up to you." Capper asked, pawing the cover of the book.

"How much time do we have left?" OJ asked.

Sand-Ra pointed at the Black Flame Candle, which had been placed in the center of the library in our absence. "Until the wax has all melted away and the sun rises in the morn." the candle was only a couple inches tall by this point and my EFS read 5am.

"I think there's only an hour until sunrise." I told everypony.

"Thackery didn't do anything against us down there. In fact he saved our lives. He is Sand-Ra's familiar and I say he's telling the truth! Do it!" Orange Juice nodded to Capper.

Capper handed the book to Cheshire who flipped the book open. He seemed to know exactly where it needed to be turned. I looked into the pages and read the spell. "From endless night was their plight now banished and gone from sight. Returned to dark where shadows run, we now save these sisters Sand and Sun." my red magic lifted from the pages and the Black Flame Candle burst into activity. My magic caressed the black flame and turned it red instead. Then it flared up, a huge gust of wind billowed and the flame was put out.

The wind continued to blow and it lifted Sun's black mane and Sand's red mane. They closed their eyes and both smiled, what seemed like the most genuine smiles they must've had in a long time. They lifted into the air and Sun's mane turned orange and so did her cutie mark. Sand's mane turned from red to pink and the eye mark residing over her sun disk cutie mark faded away to nothingness. They landed on their hooves.

"Thank you travellers…" Sand said.

"We owe you a great debt of gratitude." Sun inclined her head.

"It was really no problem." I told them.

"Sun…" Salem bit his lip. "I know this isn't up to me…but I really really want to go with them…"

Sun smiled lovingly, "Salem, you know I would never restrict you. We are always connected, no matter the distance. As long as I still feel our parabatai bond I will be fine."

"I will come back someday, I just need some fresh air for once in 300 years." he stretched and smiled.

"Very well." Sun nodded.

"I wouldn't ever think of leaving my witch's side," scoffed Thackery.

"Perhaps I'll go outside and explore the city of Salem…" Sand nodded toward us.

We all shuffled in place, feeling awkward. "Um…about that mistress." Thackery started.

"Ma'ams, the outside world as you know it is in ruins." Buck said. "You won't be leaving to find a lively Salem, Shetlachusetts, but instead a desolated Manehattan."

"There's something else too," I spoke up. "Ashlings of the Circle of Ash and darklings of the Ritual of the Moon roam the streets. They look to steal the Book of the Damned from you.

"It's actually called the Book of Shadows. It was only damned because of the Woogyman. Now that we've been freed we can now use it freely again." said Sun.

"Sounds like we've got some work to do, dear sister."

"Salem, go with them, explore this world, draw your maps, and tell us what we need to know in order to continue better protecting the Sand-Sun Manor." Sun instructed Salem.

"Yes!" Salem pumped a fist in delight.

"And I want more about Combat Zone when you come back." Sun winked in Combat's direction and the stallion blushed.

"Wha-what? How do you know…?"

"We're parabatai, remember?" Sun smiled.

"Then it's settled?" Buck asked them. "You'll protect the Book of Shadows from and ashlings and darklings and we'll bring Salem along with us?"

"Sounds like a delectable plan!" Sand nodded. "I'll work on putting the barriers back up, dear sister." she nodded to Sun.

The sun outside the window rose and light filled the room. It was a happy ending here, and perhaps Manehattan could be made into a fast travel point as we worked to reconnect Equestria. Orange Juice cast a gate spell in the middle of the library and we all jumped through, returning to Sanctuary.

 _(Footnote: Did anyone catch the House on Haunted Hill vibes? I know, you guys probably haven't seen that movie. It's alright. At least nopony died! This little sub plot had a happy ending. I hope you guys liked Thackery Binx and Salem Saberhagen. Salem is gonna be a background character, kind of exploring the world with the main characters but I won't really mention him often. Alright, on to the next chapter x3)_

 **Brohoof! /)**


	26. Chapter 24 We All Fall Down

**Chapter 24** We All Fall Down

Ashe Erza

 _Present Time, the previous evening._

Conquine was wartorn. It reminded me of the remnants of the country I had left behind to come here, someplace not much better. Although, I was glad for the friends I surrounded myself with. Joy and Felia especially. They had been my retainers in Dalemasca and the magic they used was powerful Dalemascan magicks, a remnant of the Mist from the Old World. I looked toward Wonder and Cherry.

"Are you ready Chief Quartermaster Sergeant, Private 1st Class? Once we enter the town proper there is no turning back." I was eyeing the two whilst also keeping point on the town ahead. I had to ensure the safety of my team and I would not allow them to enter combat without checking on their wellbeing first. It had been my one of my purposes in the resistance back home and it would continue to be my part of my job as a Colonel in the General's army.

"I'm certainly ready," Cherry Blossom said.

"I'm ready as I'll ever be but I definitely wish I was fighting alongside OJ." Wonder winked and I smiled.

"I understand your position Private, however, the Prince, Guardian and his team have a mission of their own." I explained. It really should be quite clear, but if not I was glad to explain it.

"I apologize, Colonel, it just makes me a little worried when I'm not with him."

"He is with the Guardian," I told him. "Quell your fears."

"Yes ma'am!" he saluted and I nodded.

"Everypony ready then?"

"Aye, ma'am!" Joyride shouted.

"Yes, ma'am," Heart nodded quietly.

"You betcha, Colonel," Cherry smirked and looked straight ahead.

"Of course, ma'am," Wonder smiled.

I nodded, pleased with my unit, "Very good, everypony! Now let us get in there and fight to our fullest. I am not certain what to expect but we are meeting with Major Lead, if he is still alive. It is our mission to assess the situation and take action as necessary. I was told to expect resistance from ashling and darkling forces as well as synthetic forces. To the best of my knowledge the synths are working alongside the Circle of Ash, however they have never exhibited this behavior before so I do not know what to expect."

We entered the town limits, the Battle of Conquine on the horizon as the sun began to set. I noticed the darkling forces immediately, my Mist Forward Sparkle showing me a compass and minimap of the area. I could also pull up a large scale map in front of my vision if I would like to, but the minimap was usually enough. I could see the health bars of every member of my party, including myself, in my lower left and we were all at full health. Whilst Cherry did not use magic and had minimal MP, I could see that the rest of us were at full MP at an average of 200 points.

I had 438 points of MP, the highest of us all. I needed all that extra magic power in order to perform my powerful requips. I held a large storage of supplies, armor and weapons in a Void within the Mist. Heart also had a high amount, at 267. Joyride was the lowest at 89 and Wonder was just above that at 113.

My MFS alerted me to the presence of enemies, displaying their names above their heads. I saw 4 darklings converging in the shadows, waiting to ambush us. I really did not like these ponies. They were only able to be defeated with magic, nothing physical could penetrate their prevailing darkness. That would be a problem for Cherry. "Stop!" I held up a hoof, causing everypony to stop in their tracks. "I see four darklings. Cherry, I am going to find a suitable weapon for you, as physical attacks do not harm these enemies. They appear to be guarding the gates into the town square as well as here. I see a few ashlings in the square. I do not see the synthetics yet."

"You may not see them, Colonel, but I certainly do. My compass indicates 6 enemies up ahead. The darklings appear to be protecting 2 synth gallopers." Cherry informed me.

"Ah, very good eye, I see them now too. One of them appears to be a lightning galloper," I said. Gallopers were second class synths, a step up from the ordinary synth. A lightning galloper held extraordinary powers with lightning arcana.

Just then another pony entered the scene. It looked like a synth, or perhaps not, I could not tell. The only thing I knew is I had never seen anything like it. His coat was the color of eggnog, white chest and stomach, and stripes that swirled over his back and into his small fluffy tail. There were white speckles on his face, and his eyes were green like mistletoe leaves. His short mane was a cappuccino color, light brown, and his bangs curled softly at the end. He had what appeared to be tree branches sprouting from two points in his head. My MFS couldn't pick up on his signature but I saw him plainly on the battlefield. It was like he was masked in the Mist, non existent yet there at the same time. "Is anypony else seeing the tree branch pony?" I asked my team.

"You mean the deer pony?" Cherry looked to me with an amused expression. "Hell yeah I'm seeing the deer pony and I suggest we all take a step back. Either he's a synthetic grazer and we're all in for a world of trouble or he's just another enemy and we're still in a world of trouble, and I don't plan on sticking around to find out."

"He must be a powerful magic user, for not even the Mist can detect him." I bit my lip, hating that my compass was faulty.

"That's why I suggest falling back." Cherry said.

"Do as he says," I said to my team and we all went to hide behind the wreckage of two cars.

Peeking my head up ever so slightly I observed as the deer pony with his tree branch horns reared back on his hind legs to attack the synths and darklings. He kicked out at the synthetics and a powerful magic formed between his two branches. It was the brightest white I had ever seen as so I had to turn my gaze away. It was like staring into a white sun. He swung his head around and the magic swiped through the air, leaving a trail and smashing into the darklings. I half expected them to absorb the light as they always liked to do, but the light from his horns completely destroyed the darklings. Next were the ashlings. They had been slowly backing away at this point, but the deer pony turned on them. They dropped their weapons and ran for it. He turned about and did a little happy trot, the cutest thing I'd ever seen.

"Oi!" he then called out. "I see ya over there mate! It's al _wroit_! I'll only hurt ya if ya attempt to resist." his aussie accent was rich and flavorful. I quite liked it.

"Are we safe to proceed, Colonel?" Wonder asked. "I mean, he did take out those darklings like they were nothing."

"We should be fine," I nodded slowly and his Mist signature began to register as I cast Libra a few times. "He appears to be friendly."

"He did take out our enemies for us," said Heart.

"Aye!" Joyride agreed.

The 5 of us slowly picked ourselves up and came out from behind the cars. "We mean you no harm traveler!" I called to him. "We are here to help defend Conquine."

He trotted over to us, "There is nothing left to defend, mate. Conquine has fallen, Major Lead is dead."

Cherry lifted his shotgun and pointed it directly at the pony. "Who the buck are you? How do you know Conquine's fallen? Unless you're the one who caused it to fall."

I put a hoof on Cherry's gun as I noticed the pony charging up another spell to defend himself. "At ease, Sergeant."

Cherry lowered his weapon and the deer pony's spell dissipated. "How do we know we can trust him? For all we know he's a synth."

"I am a synth, but deer ponies can't be corrupted by dark magic, _mate_." he stressed the word, appearing to be at odds with Cherry. Cherry could be a little difficult at times.

"May I ask a silly question?" I proposed.

"Sure, go wroit ahead."

"Why do tree branches grow from your head?" I heard a collective groan from the rest of my team, Cherry remained silent and weary eyed.

The deer pony burst into hysterics, "Oi! Tree branches. I get ya, I get ya. No, these here are called antlers."

"You seem to be proficient in magic."

"All deer ponies are. It's in our nature. You seem to be as well. Your magic is nearly as strong as mine, I was quite surprised by how difficult it was to mask my presence from you."

"You cannot hide any longer, my Libra spell has told me all I need to know. Besides your name of course." I held out a hoof and he grabbed it.

"I am Riggs Bailey. Very noice to meet you." we shook and dropped our hooves.

"I am Colonel Ashe Erza of Dalemasca, this is my team here, Private First Class Wonderful," Wonder shook hooves with the deer.

"Nice to meet you, you can just call me Wonder." he said. Riggs nodded.

"Felia Heart and her friend Joyride." I pointed them out and Riggs inclined his head respectfully. "And you've met my Chief Quartermaster Sergeant, Cherry Blossom. He can be a bit tempered."

"I most certainly am not!" he stomped a hoof.

"Well you certainly let paranoia get the best of ya!" Riggs said, "But ey, that ain't so bad in the wild wastes. I was actually glad you guys showed up. Ya see, I can't find my son and as I previously stated, Major Lead is out of commission. I'm the last line of defense here and it's been tough. The backup is much appreciated."

"What's your son's name? Perchance my team can help you find him." I smiled at our new friend.

"His name is Ethan Bailey. I'm afraid for the worst."

Heart spoke up, "Don't be afraid for the worst when you can always hope for the best."

"Oi, I like her." Riggs smiled.

"Aye, sir!" Joyride was all smiles too.

"Can you give me your assessment of the situation before we go bustling into town?" I inquired.

"Sure! Bloody blokes in there tearing the place up. I believe there was a couple Courser Magistrates earlier. They came to make peace with the ponies of Conquine, but as soon as the ashlings showed up all of their circuits were fried and they turned to dark magic. Deer ponies have always been immune to dark magicks so me an' meh boy were the only two who didn't turn."

"What makes you so special?" asked Cherry Blossom.

Riggs smiled and winked, showing off his cutie mark, which was two snowflakes that actually appeared to move. "A dancing cutie mark!" Wonder was in awe, "I've always wished mine did that." he showed off his spiked bangle cutie mark. It in fact did not move or wiggle.

"I have light magic running through my veins. It's something that is unique to my species. Unfortunately my son is a radstag, not a deer pony so he is more vulnerable. His deer pony genes were mutated and the light magic in his blood is susceptible to dark influences. Which is why we must find him asap!"

"Then let us be off. If there is still a Magistrate in the town proper being controlled by ashling magic then he or she is no doubt on a mission to kidnap the boy. We've seen what ashlings do to obtain power first hoof." with that my team, Riggs Bailey, and I set off into the town. My MFS alerted me to the discovery of a new location, one of which I hoped we could set up a fast travel gate.

_Conquine Town Proper_

At the top of the hill, we could see below into the town square. There were a few synths terrorizing the last of the residents. I wasn't sure but I thought I saw another pony who looked a little like Riggs Bailey. He was being harassed by a tall ashling wearing a blue robe. I had never seen that color before, they usually preferred gray cloaks. I knew immediately that this was the stallion who'd perpetrated the whole event.

"Riggs, that ashling down there, do you recognize him?"

"Cognizant Thought. His magic is very powerful, I can't stop him alone." Riggs bit his lip as he recognized his son. "Please, help me! My son is down there!"

"There isn't much we can do right now." I shook my head, feeling bad for him. "There are too many darklings and ashlings and Cognizant is labelled as a boss on my MFS."

"Mine too," said Cherry. There were grumbles of agreement from the rest of the team.

"You're telling me you refuse to help save a poor innocent child?"

"No, we will rescue him from the Circle of Ash, mark my words." I told him. "Unfortunately after taking a risk assessment, now is not that time."

"Please! Now is the only time!" Riggs was beginning to form tears in his eyes. "Forgive me, I don't usually do this but that's my son for Faust's sake!"

"Look, _buck_ , the Colonel has assessed the situation. She cannot put anypony's lives in danger for the life of one pony." Cherry snapped. "She's not saying she doesn't care, she's saying she can't do anything about it right now."

"That's _stag_ to you, mate, and it isn't just one pony down there. It's Minute Hooves and travellers and traders and residents. You're telling me you aren't willing to help them? Isn't that what ya came here for?"

"There are simply too many enemies. We are outnumbered. I truly am sorry."

"I'm going down there, with or without you!" Riggs jumped forward but I put up a hoof to block his path.

"Do not do this," I told him. "You will surely be killed." as we watched the killing had already begun. After receiving their orders, the ashlings lifted their weapons and fired upon the townsfolk. The only one left alive was the radstag.

"How can you stand there and watch this!" Riggs gasped, the tears now falling. "They're taking my son!" as the last pony fell, the Magistrate in charge grabbed hold of the colt and dragged him into the now open gate.

"They can teleport too…" Wonder breathed.

"We're doomed…" Heart put a hoof to her muzzle.

"I can't sit back and say I'm happy about what happened. I can only say we were too late to do anything about it and I am terribly sorry. Return with us to Sanctuary, we will formulate a plan there." I told him.

"You're damned right I'm coming to Sanctuary with you. I thought the Minute Hooves were better than this."

"We aren't the Minute Hooves pal, we're from the Fort." Cherry snapped. "And frankly I think we're much smarter than they ever seemed to be. They're so Faust damned disorganized."

"That being said, they are still our ally and we must do what we can to keep the peace. I hope the synths who haven't turned will join us in our quest." I said to Riggs.

"If there are any synths left not turned I'll let you know." he told me. "Now open a gate and get us the buck out of here!"

"Very well." I closed my eyes and began performing the gate ritual. Conquine had fallen and it was another battle lost in the war against the Circle of Ash. I only wished we could've done more. I knew in my heart that boy was important and if it would reassure him, I would do everything in my power to help Riggs find his son. I only hoped Orange Juice and his friends had fared better than I.

 _(Footnote: Remember Ashes to Ashes in Rebel Heart? Well now We All Fall Down! Time for more insight into Ashe Erza's point of view, huh? I really like writing about her and her two friends, Joyride and Heart. I just started the Fallout 4 questline where a child is kidnapped, this'll lead into the main story too. Okay, on to the next Chapter!)_


	27. Chapter 25 Build It Up With Sticks and--

**Chapter 25** Build It Up With Sticks and Stones

Ravager Blitzfire

When we hopped through the portal we noticed that Ashe Erza and her team had already returned to Sanctuary. They had a deer pony with them, just as we had brought along Salem. I had thought I'd never see another radstag after leaving Cumberland, but here we were. However, I didn't think he was actually irradiated. He must be something else because he was not mutated like a radstag.

"Hello," I called to Ashe as we walked up.

"Good morning," Ashe smiled at us. "Glad to see everypony is alright."

"Glad to see you as well," the Guardian said. "Who's this you have with you?" he looked at the deer pony.

Ashe looked toward the black cat, "I could ask the same of you."

"I'm Salem Saberhagen." said Salem to Ashe and she lifted a hoof to shake his paw. He grabbed it and brought it to his lips to kiss it. "Nice to make your acquaintence." he gave her a look above his short snout.

"Oh, a pleasure indeed." Lady Ashe giggled.

"Flirt," Combat rolled his eyes.

"Oi, my name is Riggs Bailey," said the deer pony.

"I didn't think I'd ever meet another stag," I said behind a hoof to Capper.

"Me neither," Capper said.

"Me third," said Cheshire. "The only stag I know is Mist Haze on Cumber." he purred as he swirled around Riggs. The stag seemed unaware of Cheshire's presence, yet his nose twitched and he waved a hoof in subtle annoyance.

"I think I'm allergic to cats," he put a hoof to his face, scratching.

"Actually, you must be detecting the presence of Cheshire," said the Colonel.

"Ooohh!" Pumpkin Spice bounced up and down, "How cool! It's like he grows more and more real each day!"

"He is real," said Capper in response.

"Guardian," said Ashe Erza, "what can you tell me of the Museum of Witchcraft. I prefer to hear your news first, as it may lift my spirits."

Buck shook his head, "I can tell you we've got good news and bad news."

"Give me the bad news first."

"From what I gather, the Magistrate was definitely there. She attempted to awaken an ancient darkling entity in order to steal a very powerful book of magic. She was not successful. The bad news is that she was nowhere to be found anywhere in Manehattan."

"The good news?"

"The good news is that we managed to stop the darkling from capturing the book."

OJ shouted, "We put the Woogyman to rest! He can't hurt anypony anymore. And there are two sisters and a kitty-cat guarding it now."

"Two sisters?"

"My witch master, Sun and my brother's master Sand along with my brother Thackery Binx." Salem explained. "The Magistrate bitch that tried to steal the book was after the Book of the Damned. These fine stallions and mare managed to stop the evil ritual and restore the Book of Shadows. Now Sand and Sun guard it from the evil that once attempted to steal it in the first place."

"Can we hear your news now?" asked Buck, locking eyes with the Colonel.

"Of course, though I must warn it is with heavy heart that I must inform you of our next mission." said Erza.

"Is finding Priscilla no longer a priority?" asked OJ. Of course he'd be concerned about her. I really hoped we'd still try and find her.

"Priscilla?" Riggs stroked his chin. "I feel as though I've heard that name." he was bouncing from hoof to hoof, _click-clack, click-clack,_ energetically.

"Strange sense of deja vu, huh?" asked Pumpkin Spice with a huge smile.

"Finding Prissy can be made a priority, once we find Ethan Bailey," Ashe Erza announced.

"Awe pone!" Orange Juice whined. Wonder went to comfort him.

"It'll be okay OJ. We'll find Prissy, don't you worry."

Riggs spoke up, addressing the Guardian and the Colonel, "Sir, ma'am, the only way we're going to find my son is to head to the Institute of Friendship. However, I don't know how to get there."

"What? But aren't you a synth?" Cherry asked.

"I am, and I did originate from the Institute, but that was a long time ago. Before I adopted Ethan, before I realized just how fucked up the Institute really is."

"You got that right!" Combat put in.

"How would we find out how to infiltrate the Institute?" asked Buck.

Capper held up a paw, "I think if there were any good leads to follow up on, we would start with either Piper or the Railroad."

"I would also be a good resource," Press seemingly appeared out of nowhere and I jumped, startled. "As we have the capabilities of setting up settlements we can continue to spread across the Broncston Wastes and help you put an end to anarchy here."

"It would make travelling through the wasteland a lot easier," commented Ashe.

Guardian said, "We'll get back to you on that. I want to head to the Railroad first."

"Head to the North Church," I said, "there's a hidden passageway inside that leads directly to the Railroad HQ."

"Once we get there I could set up a fast travel gate." Erza nodded.

"Sounds like y'all got everything settled then." said Capper.

"Indeed!" Pumpkin Spice was bouncing in place.

I watched as OJ shuffled off, Wonder on his tail. He was down in the dumps about Priscilla and we were all obviously ignoring him. I bit my lip and looked around at the Fort ponies, how they all continued to make plans and ignore OJ just as they always seemed to have done. This is why I hated the Guardian program, he wasn't a true Guardian to that colt, he was his military Sergeant and nothing more. I rolled my eyes and pushed past him. He gave a grunt and I felt eyes on me as I left the scene.

"OJ!" I called as I approached. Wonder glanced up and narrowed his eyes. "Don't worry hotshot, I'm not here to steal your coltfriend. I've already got a tomfriend." I gave a short scowl then smiled at OJ. "Hey bud…"

"I don't want to talk to you right now." spat OJ.

"Hear that, he doesn't want to talk to you." Wonder snapped.

"Alright, but I guess that means you don't want to hear what I have to say about Priscilla?"

OJ's ears perked up but he didn't stop staring at the ground. I knew I had piqued his interest. "What is it then?" he mumbled underneath his breath. I saw Wonder roll his eyes and get up to leave. He stretched his back and stared at me for a moment.

"I'm going to Double Diamond City soon, to talk to Piper. If you'd like to come I'm sure she'd know a thing or two about Priscilla's situation."

"She would?" OJ looked up at me, finally making eye contact.

Wonder rolled his eyes and brayed, "Oh how nice of you to finally acknowledge OJ's feelings." OJ looked confused.

"Look, I know the way I left was a bit rushed but I had no other choice."

"You had a choice pal and you chose to leave OJ in the dust. Don't you know how much that hurt him?"

"I don't know about all that but I can easily observe the lot of you hurting him every second of every day you're with him."

"How? How do we hurt him, explain it then."

"STOP!" OJ shouted, "Just stop…" we both blinked at him. "Blitz is right Wonder…"

"Wh-what?" Wonder choked.

"You guys seem to forget that I'm here all the damn time!" OJ cried. "You talk about me like I'm some kind of child and that I don't matter. Well I'm not a child. Not anymore. I'm 28 years old for Faust damn sake."

"I know that OJ, I'm sorry."

OJ stood abruptly. "Don't be." and he shoved past both of us, heading toward the Guardian. Wonder and I blinked at each other…

* * *

Orange Juice

I huffed and puffed angrily as I stomped toward Buck. My oh so glorified Guardian. Did anypony ever stop to think about how I might feel? No! Because to them I was just some kid who needed to be babied. I wasn't fresh out of the Stable and I wasn't born yesterday. I was so sick of it. Yeah, maybe I was immature sometimes but if the situation called for it, I could be just as mature as the rest of them. Why couldn't anypony see that? I shouldn't have to explain it.

"I'm going with Blitz to talk to Piper," I announced as I approached the Guardian and Lady Ashe.

There conversation stopped suddenly and Buck stared at me like I was crazy, "OJ, I'm sorry but I'm heading to the Railroad HQ with Ashe."

I lost it, "I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE GOING TO TARTARUS WITH FAUST HERSELF. I'M GOING TO DOUBLE DIAMOND CITY WITH BLITZ AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT." I had my hooves spread in a defensive position and my breath was heavy.

"It appears as though the Prince has spoken," Ashe nudged the Guardian with a smile on her face.

"Don't you patronize me," I glared daggers at her and she backed up a step. Her expression faltered and she looked genuinely intimidated. I realized I had both my wings spread to their full wingspan.

"Hey, Guardian," Pumpkin Spice tapped on his shoulder pauldron and he jumped, completely startled. I'd never seen a pony sneak up on him like that before, not even Pumpkin Spice. Something had him caught off guard. "Orange Juice and I are going with Blitz to Double Diamond City." I tried my best to regulate my breathing as I watched the Guardian go from tense to relaxed very slowly.

"O-Okay Pumpkin Spice…" he cleared his throat. "That sounds like a good plan to me. Take Wonder with you."

"Then we are off!" declared Lady Ashe. The two of them, followed by Cherry, Felia, Joyride, Salem and Combat entered the gate.

* * *

Double Diamond City was blanketed in a layer of snow when we stepped through the gate. I saw Capper adjust his sleeves and Blitz pull his vest collar over his neck. Pumpkin shifted her scarf and Wonder cast a spell. I had my wings but I could tell it was cold here. "Winter is here!" came a voice I recognized. I looked over and saw Piper waving a newspaper. "Here's a list of supplies to help you get through it!" she was shouted to anypony who would listen.

I smiled and skipped over to her. "I'll take a list! How much?" I was reaching into my saddlebags for my coin purse.

She looked at me, startled, "What you mean you actually want this garbage?"

"I don't think it's garbage," I told her. "I think it's wonderful that you write. Here, I'll give you 10 caps." I handed her the change and she slowly but surely relinquished her grip on the page.

"10 caps…" she breathed staring at them like they were a lost treasure she'd been searching for her whole life.

"Hey Piper," said Blitzfire as they approached her.

"H-Hi…" she breathed, still fascinated by the caps I had given her. She stuffed them into her pocket and smiled up at us. "So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"We're here to ask about Priscilla!" I proclaimed, getting ahead of myself.

"Not just yet Orange Juice," said Pumpkin Spice.

"We wanted to ask y'all, where might we find the Institute?" Capper leaned on a lamp post beside Piper's little burrow.

"Why are you looking for the Institute, detective?" she eyed us warily.

"A little pony, just a colt, got kidnapped!" Pumpkin Spice exclaimed.

"What!?" Piper's eyes went wide. "Who? Who got kidnapped?"

"His name was Ethan Bailey. He's a radstag," Capper said.

"And what does Priscilla have to do with it?" Piper turned to me.

"Well…she was a good pony but apparently she's using something called a moonstone and now she's evil." my lower lip quivered.

"Priscilla became a Courser Magistrate, we think she's the one who kidnapped that poor colt." Capper straightened up. I saw Cheshire swirling around him, snickering behind his paws. I stuck my tongue out.

"If Priscilla is a Courser then that's your next step," said Piper.

"What is?" asked Blitz.

Piper heaved a huge sigh, "Courser Magistrates are the only ponies capable of travelling to and from the Institute at will."

"Where might we find a Courser Magistrate, so we could find out how they travel that way?" asked Capper.

"I have no clue who in their right mind would want to travel to the Institute but if you're really so inclined then I would go to the School of Friendship in the Capital Wasteland." Piper pursed her lips. "One other thing: bring backup, and a lot of it. The school will be filled to the brim with synthetics."

"Will we find Priscilla there?" I asked her.

"You very well might. If her job in Equestria is incomplete then she'd have returned there to regroup and create a new plan. Where do you think all the synths come from?"

"Then we have to go to the School of Friendship at once!" I made a proclamation, hopefully my friends would agree.

* * *

We returned to Sanctuary through the fast travel gate and we had to wait a couple hours before the Guardian and his group returned. The time passed slowly and I felt very bored. I half wished that I could still play with Dime, but he and his parents were still stationed at Griffonstone Station. I kicked around a lost soccer ball as I waited.

Finally they came through the gate, but things weren't looking up. Every one of them had a grim expression set on their muzzles. Combat just looked pissed, scowling and snapping at anypony who got too close. Cherry was in a similar mood but he was less up front about it. Ashe Erza had a determined expression on her face.

"We must embark immediately," she was saying to Buck.

"Where are we going?" I asked them as they approached the Community Center.

The Guardian had a dark look on his face as he intoned, "We're heading to the School of Friendship…"


	28. Chapter 26 All Aboard the Fiendship--

**Chapter 26** All Aboard the Fiendship Express

Orange Juice

We all waited while the train pulled into the station. With all my friends and theirs too the train car was cramped. We looked for our own individual cabins. Wonder bunked with me. I felt really weird, a strange feeling of anxiety building up in me. I hadn't ever felt like this before, and it made me uncomfortable. I could barely make eye contact with Wonder, and he noticed the change in my mood.

"You okay there, Cutie?"

"I'm…fine…" but I wasn't. I heaved a sigh as I stared out the window at the passing trees and hills. The world looked so dark and gloomy all of a sudden. What happened to all the color?

"You don't seem fine, and you know you can talk to me about anything."

I stared at him then, "Are you sure?" I bit my lip, worried he wasn't going to understand.

"I am absolutely sure," he winked and grinned at me.

His expression fell as I spoke to him, "So I guess everypony hates Prissy now…"

"We don't hate her…" his voice trailed off.

"Then why won't anypony understand that she's not evil?" I pouted.

"She's not evil, but the magic she's using is." Wonder explained. "We're all worried that she's not going to be a good pony again and that you aren't going to be able to accept that."

"But I can't accept that! What's the point of being the Prince of Friendship if I just give up on my friends?"

"She isn't your friend, OJ. Isn't she one of the mares who used you in the Stable?"

"No!" my eyes widened, "No she isn't! She's one of the only mares who were actually nice to me in the stable!" I cried out.

"Oh…" at that the train started to slow down.

"Attention passengers, there appears to be some sort of roadblock on the tracks. We're going to have to come to a stop until it can be cleared." There was a collective grumble throughout the train.

"What's going on?" I asked Wonder.

"I don't know," he slowly sat up, sticking his head out the window, trying to see what was up. "I can't see it…"

There came a knock at the door, "Open up, we've got a problem." it sounded like one of the Minute Hooves.

"I don't recognize that voice," Wonder had his voice low. I glanced between Wonder and the door, my heart racing.

"What do we do?" I whispered.

"You have a spell or two up your sleeve? Use that alicorn magic." Wonder winked, implying something else at the same time.

I giggled, "Okay!" I activated a small orb of magic on the tip of my horn. Something about it felt hot, and it only got hotter. I was going to have to learn how to control the temperature if I was ever going to control this energy better. It was so much, almost a heavy feeling on my head, like it was trying to pin me to the earth. I grunted as Wonder put a hoof on the compartment door, preparing to open it. My EFS was showing a red bar on my compass and I knew it was an enemy before the door was even open.

The door slid open and a pony wearing a black pleather jacket was waiting for us. Yeah, definitely not a Minute Hoof. "By order of the Institute of Fiendship, this cabin is now under Circle of Ash control. Hand over all weapons or be forced to—" I tossed my energy orb and he went crashing through the window behind him.

"Whoo whoo!" I whooped, making a sorta of choo choo train sound in glee.

"We're not off the bus yet," Wonder poked his head into the hallway.

"This isn't a bus!" I laughed as we entered the main hall that connected with the rest of the train. We had to check on our friends and the train still wasn't moving.

I saw Blitz poke his head out of his compartment as we approached and he asked, "What's going on? Why have we stopped?"

"The train is being ambushed by Circle of Ash synthetics." said Wonder in a huff. As though on cue the synthetic who had bombarded us previously jumped back through the window and went immediately into a tackle. He hit me and we went rolling, knocking into Blitz and Capper like bowling pins. We all toppled over each other and when we ended the synth was on top of me.

A knife was pressed to my neck, "Now you all are gonna listen here. I have orders to take the Prince of Friendship straight to the School. Make any sudden moves to stop me and I won't hesitate to slit his pretty little throat."

Everypony stopped in their tracks. Blitz had just picked himself up and had fire magic in his eyes but it slowly faded away as he realized how dire the situation truly was. "That's right," the synth begin to snicker and back away, me in his grip. He was forgetting one thing though.

I had wings! I snapped them open, shoving the synth back. I felt the knife knick me, a little sting and a sharp burn but it hadn't done any serious damage. "Now you've gone and done it!" yelled the synth.

"OJ!" Blitz shouted, lunging forward and grabbing my hoof. The synth grabbed ahold of my tail and I was pulled in two directions at once.

"If your job is to take me to the School of Friendship then you're going about it all wrong!" I stuck my tongue out at him and he glared daggers. "Let go of my tail and we can talk!"

"How about…no?" and he pulled on my tail even harder and I winced.

"Okay, Blitz how about you try some of that fire magic on him?" I winked and Blitz cocked his head.

He whispered low so only I could hear, "You want me to let go?" I nodded.

He mouthed a count of three and suddenly I was falling backward straight onto the synth. We rolled and I snapped my wings out as far as they could go, catching them on the walls of the train and flipping myself around. I landed on top of the synth, horn glowing. Blitz had fire in his eyes again and was staring down at the synth I had in my grip.

"There's four of us and one of you." Blitz smiled smugly.

"You underestimate our forces. Synth Trotters are not few nor far between. You're all in over your heads if you think you can infiltrate the school with only 10 ponies."

"Actually, there are 13 of us and we all have magic. You synths don't appear to be as technologically advanced as good ol' me." Capper flicked at his coat cuffs giving that crooked grin he always wore.

"Don't you worry. You're up against our best Magistrate yet." My heart skipped a beat at the mention of a Magistrate.

"Prissy…" I choked out.

"Oh, dear Prissy is waiting for you." the synth began to laugh and there was a small beeping sound.

"What's that?" Blitz questioned.

"Sounds like…SHIT! Clear the train now!" Wonder shouted and we all jumped away from the synth. He was on countdown to self destruct. We scrambled to escape the train car just as it was engulfed in flames. We were thrown into the ditch. I blacked out…

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

When I came to it was amidst the wreckage of flaming train cars. I saw OJ out of the corner of my eye, still unconscious. I saw other members of our party either climbing from their own fallen cars or picking themselves from the ditch. The Minute Hoof conductor and soldiers were nowhere to be seen. I hoped everypony had made it out alright but that was yet to be determined.

"Is everypony okay?" called the Colonel, her armor red and fire retardant. Her scarlet mane billowed in the breeze, looking like dancing flames on her head.

"I'm fine!" Pumpkin Spice popped up from nowhere.

"As am I," said Buck, walking toward us from the train. He had scorch marks on his armor, but other than that he looked just fine.

"Capper?" I called looking around for my tomfriend.

"Here," he chuckled, putting a paw on my shoulder. I sighed in relief.

"Here," came Cherry's voice.

"Me too!" Combat Zone was nearby.

"As are we," said Felia Heart, walking alongside her companion, Joyride.

"Aye, sir." he nodded.

"I'm here too if anyone cared to ask," Salem had just slowly sat up in the ditch, looking dazed but sure of himself with that half cocked grin.

"As am I, said the cat with the crescent moon smile." I looked up to see Cheshire circling around Capper. His smile did look a bit like a crescent moon.

"OJ won't wake up!" came Wonder's cry from down below. He was shaking his coltfriend, and slapping at his face a little but OJ was out for the count. My eyes widened when I saw the scene and I ran towards them.

I felt a rush of energy, and in my current state I felt lifted for some reason. I was worried sick for OJ's safety and I felt my vision change as it went from normal to a strange red hue. I looked down at OJ, his orange fur appearing more red-orange than tangerine. I felt tears well up in my eyes but I forced them back. I choked, "Is he okay?"

"I don't know…" Wonder's lip was shaking.

I put a hoof on OJ, feeling for a pulse. I was so scared it wasn't going to be there. When I realized there wasn't my whole body seized up. "Oh Faust…" a single tear rolled down my cheek. "He's…dead!"

A silence fell over everypony, a quiet so dark it was deafening. I shivered and my lower jaw shook, my teeth chattering. The tear that had rested on my chin fell and hit OJ in the face. I looked away, not wanting to stare down at him any longer. I had my hooves around him, holding him up, close to my chest when suddenly he began to move.

"Oh em Faust!" Wonder gasped, "OJ!"

"Wh-wha? Whazzit?" he spluttered.

"Oh Orange Juice!" I sighed and pulled him in for a hug. "We thought you were dead!"

"I died?" he looked between me and Wonder and then toward all our friends on the crest.

"You sure did…" Wonder cracked a small smile, and we all felt relieved. "If it hadn't been for Blitz's magic I have no idea what would've happened."

" _My_ magic?" I looked around and all eyes were on me.

"You did just perform a miracle," said Ashe Erza.

"I've never seen anypony bring another from the brink of death the way you have," said Heart.

"Aye," Joy agreed.

"I can't believe I died!" Orange Juice was beside himself. He couldn't help but crack a smile at us, "Thank you for saving me," he told me.

"I would gladly do it again but let's just hope you don't go dying again any time soon." I shook my head but bared a smile.

"What now?" asked Combat Zone. "We're still miles from the School of Friendship and we have no transportation. We can't go waltzing through synth controlled territory if the synths are on the haywire."

"Haywire!" Pumpkin chortled.

"I say we hoof it." said Cherry.

"I agree," said Buck. "This mission is far too important."

"It will be a hard journey," said Erza, "should we set up a fast travel point here?" she looked over to Orange Juice who frowned.

"Why's everypony staring at me for?" he tilted his head.

"No reason," Pumpkin sang out.

"I think it may make the most sense," the Guardian nodded to Ashe. "If we need to make a quick escape this place is the closest to the edge of synth territory. We can always easily regroup here."

"Plus, the ridge is easily defendable, the train cars create a sort of barrier." I pointed out.

"Agreed," Buck nodded with a smile in my direction.

"So be it, so it is!" Ashe Erza activated magic on the tip of her horn and the huge white orb than formed the bluish-pinkish gate was centered in the middle of the ridge, near the train cars but not too close to the flames. They were dying down anyway.

You have discovered

WRECK OF THE FIENDSHIP EXPRESS

"Looks like we're taking the scenic route!" Pumpkin jumped past me and we all followed her.

"Not…so fast…" came the computerized voice of a synth. It wasn't the same synth. I imagined it was one that had attacked another cabin and he had survived the explosion. His synthetic voice must be malfunctioning however, for he didn't sound like a pony anymore, but instead like a robot. The fire had also burnt off a lot of his artificial fur to show the metal underneath.

"Is that what you look like underneath all that fur?" I whispered behind a hoof to Capper.

"I sure hope not!" Capper breathed sharply.

"State your purpose, fiend!" Erza shouted to the synth standing on top of the downed car.

"My purpose is to take the Prince of Friendship to the School. My Magistrate has deemed it so. If you attempt to resist I shall put you down." his jaw twitched, I imagined the mechanism was faulty after an explosion like that.

"What, you'll self destruct like your last compatriote?" asked Buck. "Look how that turned out."

He contemplated this, "I see your point but I do still have a mission."

"Can you see us safely across the Capital Wasteland then?" asked Ashe Erza, taking a step forward. "There is no reason we must fight."

"What is your destination?"

"We plan to travel to the School, your friend just didn't give me a chance to explain myself." said OJ.

"You attempted to resist…"

"We did no such thing!" Erza told him. "We were attacked by one of yours, not the other way around. Our only purpose is to keep the peace."

"So is ours." said the synth.

"Then why did you and your friends attack our train?" I asked him.

"To retrieve the Prince…from the evil doers." he didn't sound so sure of himself anymore.

"There are no evil doers here." said Lady Ashe. "Only friends and foe. If you are not foe, then so speak your will."

"I am…very confused…" he looked down at his hooves then hopped off the train. We all took a tentative step back but the synth didn't come any closer. "Perhaps my friend was a little rash. We were told the Prince had been kidnapped by the Circle of Ash."

"Then you were given false information, weren't you?" spoke the Guardian.

"I do not understand why my Magistrate would lie to me."

"Who's your Magistrate?" asked Orange Juice.

"Priscilla Pen-Rose." he bit his lip.

"I knew it!" OJ smiled in glee. "We have to go to the School of Friendship, we just have to!"

"What's your name anyway?" Cherry asked him.

"I am Synthetic Changeling Class No. 147. I do not have a name."

"Well number 147, we'll just have to change that, won't we?" Ashe Erza smiled. We were getting back on track and now we had an escort. I hoped that having a Synth with us would deter any further battles in the near future. While we were all well prepared for it, we certainly didn't want to fight. I was a treasure hunter, evading conflict was in my nature. The things this waste brought us too…

I wondered what made the Changeling so confused.


	29. Chapter 27 School's Out Forever

**Chapter 27** School's Out Forever

Ravager Blitzfire

The wasteland here was dark and without an artificial sun or moon. Instead it was a cloudy Veil, casting the world in darkness. We passed the castle and rounded a bend, leading down a path heading toward the school.

"I don't know…about all of you…but I'm looking forward to introducing the Prince to my Magistrate." said our synth in his computerized tones.

"I'm not…" grumbled Buck. I'm sure he thought, just as we all did, just how precarious this situation truly was.

"It will be great! I just know it!" the synthetic pony was surprisingly optimistic. Quite the contrast from the one who had attacked OJ, Wonder, Capper and I on the train. I wondered if the explosion had damaged its artificial brian.

The halls of the School of Friendship were scorched with long before dowsed fires. It did seem surprisingly pristine clean for the wasteland. Perhaps the synths took great care in keeping their place of residence clean. There was some litter and debris, but that wasn't completely unexpected for the wasteland. I wondered what secrets lie within these halls, this location was listed on my Stable-Tech maps. However, I don't think the synths would take kindly to any of stealing from them. We were vastly outnumbered anyway.

"I don't like this…" Pumpkin Spice voiced as we walked. She was looking around as she spoke. We passed a row of lockers, all of them shut and locked except for one that had its door swinging open. A synth slammed the door shut and stared angrily at us.

"I feel ya there," said Combat Zone. A collective shiver must've went down all our spines. It sure did mine.

We turned the corner and came to a broad double door. The synth leading us bowed his head and touched his horn to the doors. A burst of light caused the doors to slowly creak open. It sounded like a drawbridge being lowered. They banged to a halt revealing a large Atrium. I imagined this would've been the cafeteria, but either all the tables were gone or I was wrong. Now, instead of tables and chairs, there was a huge makeshift throne at the end of the room. The Magistrate Courser was sitting in it.

"Prissy!" OJ galloped forward but the Colonel and the Guardian threw up their arms and stopped him from approaching any further.

Priscilla frowned and blinked a couple times, seeming to wonder at the name. "My name is Priscilla. I do not go by Prissy," she finally said.

OJ broke free of Erza and Buck and went to stand before the Magistrate. "But you used to! Don't you remember?"

"I remember nothing of consequence." she waved her hoof.

"Then why did you bring me here?" OJ trembled. I couldn't tell if he was angry or sad or both.

"I wanted to see the so called Prince of Friendship for myself." she eyed OJ over her nose, looking as though she felt superior. Sitting on a throne, she probably did. "Now that I see you with my own two eyes, I see you are of little consequence. Gallopers, to attention!" two synths that had been standing idly by unnoticed by the rest of us suddenly snapped to, bringing up weapons I had never seen before. Some sort of white energy gun.

We all snapped to attention, in preparation for a battle. "No, wait!" OJ cried. He started digging into his saddle bags. "I have this!" he withdrew a pink ball, I recognized it as a memory sphere.

"What of it?" Priscilla looked bored. She picked up an apple from a basket on a side table and ate it gingerly, her head tossed back lazily.

"Just…watch it…please?" OJ presented it to her, trying to gain her favor.

"Fine, if it amuses me." she tossed the apple aside and reached down to pluck the orb from OJ's grasp.

* * *

Orange Juice

" _UP-25, how I've missed you!" Prissy smiled as she came to pick me up from my cell. She was always gleeful when she queued me._

 _I had the same elated mood when I saw that it was her today. "Oh, Prissy!" I exclaimed and blushed. I really liked her and was glad to see her today._

" _Today I have something special in mind for you." she winked, then looked around to make sure we were alone. "Why don't you follow me?"_

 _She led me down the twisting turns of the Stable 28 tunnels. The shadows weren't so dark when she was around. I beamed as we trotted down the way. We passed a few mares who scoffed at us, most of them didn't like the fair treatment Priscilla gave me. I liked it just fine. I was sensitive and she knew that. It's what made her such a good pony. It's what taught me good existed in the world._

" _Where are we going?" I asked her as we rounded another corner._

" _It's kind of a surprise, but you'll know everypony there." She winked at me over her shoulder and we came to a door. "Ah yes, here we are." I was giddy with anticipation._

 _She scanned her identification card and the door slid open on its hydraulics. Inside it was dark. I bit my lip, growing nervous. Was today the day Prissy finally showed her true colors and turned mean like all the other mares? I highly doubted she was even capable of being mean. I was chewing subconsciously on my tongue as we entered and it was sticking out of my mouth at a weird angle._

 _The lights flicked on and a couple mares popped up from the blue. Prissy had invited Bookworm and Lens Cap along with a couple other ponies in the Stable to this small party. There were decorations hung up and I read out loud, "Ha-ppy birth-day U…P-twenty….five…" I sounded the words out._

" _Well done!" everypony cheered and clapped. Bookworm looked proudest of them all._

" _Th-thank you!" I sniffled, my nose running as I cried happy tears. "I've never had a birthday before."_

" _We thought it only right," sighed Lens Cap._

" _Yeah, you've come so far UP. We're all proud of you."_

 _Prissy stared at the UP designation on my hip which had just been updated to 25 recently, "Just wish you had a cutie-mark so we could celebrate that too…"_

* * *

Prissy dropped the orb and it shattered on the floor. Her eyes focused in and out several times before she finally looked down at me. She looked at my fruit orange cutie mark surrounded by a wave of my turquoise magic on my hip. She took note of my wings and my horn and she stared slack jawed in awe. "Orange Juice…" she whispered.

"Yes…?" was she coming around?

She stood stiff and erect suddenly and snapped at the guards, "Gallopers, take these miscreants to the dungeons and don't even think about harming a hair in their manes."

"Yes, Magistrate," they both said in unison. Raising their guns they said to our group, "Surrender or die, by decree of Circle of Ash Magistrate Courser Priscilla Pen-Rose." we had no choice but to surrender. Priscilla oversaw the whole thing.

 **OOO**

Ravager Blitzfire

"Great, look where we are now," I rolled my eyes and turned away from the bars.

"Don't blame me!" OJ whined, "I thought I could get through to her."

"You very well may have," said Ashe Erza. "Something about her demeanor changed when she finished viewing that orb."

"You noticed that too?" Buck asked.

"What was in the orb?" Pumpkin Spice called from the opposite cell.

"Yeah, do share, colt," Combat said from the adjacent cell.

OJ went to the bars and called back, "It was my memory of my first and last birthday party, when I turned 25. I really wish she hadn't broken it though." OJ turned back to us. He looked somber, his face droopy.

"Hey wait a second now y'all," Capper said, moving around Pumpkin Spice and heading toward the back of their cell. "This here brick looks awfully suspicious."

"Ooh ohh, press it in!" Pumpkin Spice was bouncing up and down.

Just then the doors to the dungeons burst open and in came Priscilla. She looked around at all of us then she spun and closed the doors. She wasn't using any magic, and I wondered what was up. She came to our cells and looked to each of us. She was chewing on her lip. "OJ! Oh thank the stars." she came to our cell and stared at him. "I don't know what you did but you broke the hold the moonstone had over me. Its lure draws ever more persistent however, I don't know for how much longer I'll remain like this."

"I knew I could get through to you!" OJ cheered, going to greet his old friend at the bars.

"I only hope you can do it again." Prissy said. "Sorry I broke your orb."

"It's okay." OJ smiled, "I'm just glad you're you again."

"How can we be so sure?" came Cherry's voice, "She could be deceiving us."

"It is no deception," said Prissy. "I come to you as I am, as I once was before all this. Granted I don't know how long it will last so if there are any further questions?"

"None!" I said.

"Good. Here, take this," she passed something to OJ, "It'll act as a key to the teleporter when the time comes. It's your only way out of here. I recommend taking the secret passages to escape."

"So I was right!" Capper smirked.

"I didn't lock you up for the fun of it," said Prissy. She looked from me to OJ back to Capper, "I knew you'd be able to escape, but you must go quickly. I will leave you now." she pulled a blue potion from her pocket.

"What's that?" I asked her.

"The only way to ensure I won't remember your escape when I become Magistrate once more."

"There's really nothing you can do?" asked OJ.

"No, dear UP…I do apologize."

"My name is Orange Juice now."

"And I am happy to hear that."

"How do we save you?" he asked, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Only the Maker can do that, and only Magistrate Priscilla knows how to make the teleporter to get to the Institute." she had mournful eyes; they were big and round.

"Don't you have any way to give us that information?" asked Buck. "That is not our only mission."

"What do you need to get to the Institute for?" she asked and began rummaging through her pockets for something.

"There is a colt, one that was kidnapped by ashlings. We believe they are hiding out there."

"You must speak of the radstag colt. You are mistaken on who kidnapped him." said Prissy. From one pocket she pulled an orb. She lowered her head to it and it slowly filled with a bluish murky color. "Take this memory sphere. It contains the teleporter specs." OJ took the orb. "I really must go now, I already feel the draw to power grow more overwhelming each second."

"Fight it!" cried OJ.

"I cannot, but maybe you can find the Maker. He will know what to do." with that she backed away, back to the staircase. She chugged the memory erasing potion and then she was gone. We heard her hooves beating heavily on the stairs as she went full gallop away.

* * *

We all found each other in the secret passage and there was a staircase up ahead. The floors were wet and somewhere in the distance I could hear the steady drip drip of water. This place was more a cave now than a part of the school. I wondered how we were meant to escape from these tunnels when my answer was found for me. There was a huge crystal at the top of the stairs. It was gold in color and I assumed it was locked, which is why OJ was given a key.

"We better not lose that," Ashe Erza commented when OJ brought it to bear. "It is a teleport stone, the only way to open one of these crystals. Where the Magistrate got a teleporter is beyond me."

"What is it?" Pumpkin circled around it, her eyes googly as she stared in wonder.

"It is a teleportation crystal, imported from Dalemasca. Must've been Pre War, my country was an ally to Equestria. I'll just have to make a few configurations so it won't consume the stone. I'll make it more a gate than a stone…" there was a glow on her horn and the room filled with amber light. We were all blinded for a moment as Erza did her thing. "It is safe to use now. OJ, when you're ready."

"I'm always ready," he yipped. Then he brought the stone down on the crystal, which was glowing with a reddish light instead of golden, Erza's magic. It was so pretty, it looked like a giant uncut ruby with golden stripes. However, the light emanating from it the closer Orange Juice brought his stone was hard to look at and I shielded my eyes. I noticed I wasn't the only one in the room doing so.

When next I opened my eyes I found that we were all in Sanctuary. Erza's magic lit on her horn again and she swiped it through the gate. A flash of red later and the gate lowered. Then she rebuilt it from new magic. "I had to ensure nopony else could follow us through the crystal."

OJ held up the stone he had been given. It was red as a ruby with golden stripes in it. "It changed!" he gulped. "Is that bad?"

"No colt, it is actually very good." said Erza. "It means when we build our teleportation gate only we can go through it."

"You're all back!" Press came galloping toward us. "How did it go?" he asked.

"It was splendid!" Erza boasted with a big smile on her face. She cantered off, followed by Buck and Cherry.

"Splendid isn't the word I'd use. Faust, am I hungry." said Combat Zone, moving off to find some food.

"I say it went better than expected," said OJ, always optimistic.

"Eh…" I followed after OJ and Wonder, Capper on my tail. My stomach was growling. "You guys have any grub?" I asked Press.

"Of course! Mimi can whip you up something good." Press nodded towards the Community Center and I headed that way.

"I could use a cat nap," Capper said behind me. "Wanna find me when you're finished?"

"You're not hungry?"

"I have a snack," said Capper, and when I looked back at him I realized he was chewing on some crackers. I shook my head but chuckled.

"I'll find you, don't worry." I saw Cheshire swirling around Capper as he walked away.

"One of us better tell Riggs Bailey the good news!" Pumpkin Spice bounced along beside me. I jumped, startled at her sudden appearance.

"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about him!" I bit my lip and smiled at her slowly.

"Best not to!" she winked and went bouncing off. I went inside the Community Center where a smell of roasted herbs hit my nose. I saw a banquet laid out and my mouth watered. I hadn't realized it had been so long since I last ate, but my stomach was angry with me for it.

"Wow! Way to go Mimi!" I said as I got a dish and let her put some vegetables on my plate.

"Oh, no need to thank me," she blushed. "I had help!" she nodded to the other ponies that were serving food as well.

"I'm glad we made it back in time for dinner." I smiled.

"School's out right? How'd your visit go anyway?" she asked me.

"Oh, it went better than we all expected." I mulled it over, "Prissy may be able to be saved."

"Oh? That's good!" Mimi smiled as she put some hay on my plate.

"Thanks Mimi," I nodded to her and went on my way. School was out…forever if we didn't stop the advancing ashling and darkling forces. I only hoped whatever we found in the Institute would help us end this crisis. Prissy had told us ashlings weren't the ones who'd kidnapped Ethan. I wondered what had happened then. I contemplated as I ate my salad, but nothing came to mind.


	30. Chapter 28 All The Small Things

**Chapter 28** All The Small Things

Nexus Spark

 _Pre-War: 0 Years Before The Megaspells_

"Are you excited to see the Stable?" I asked as I dealt a hoof of cards to Blitz, Sugar Pop, Coffee Bean and Margarita. We were at Sugar's house and he insisted we play cards with him before Mimi took us to see Stable 14 later that day. The time for occupying the Stable was crawling up on us and Mimi thought us department heads deserved a first glimpse at our soon to be home. Sugar was the Chief of Agriculture.

Sugar was in the kitchen gathering a few things to eat, a snack tray I presumed. He came out with a tray, as I'd thought, of chips, crackers, and an assortment of veggies. We all ogled it when he set it down in the center of the table. "Go ahead, help yourselves." we already had paper plates.

I couldn't help thinking this was the calm before the storm, though. We were approaching the precipice and there was no turning back. Why did I get the feeling we were being watched? Not just by Pinkie Pie either, _if you followed her propaganda._ It was like this strange sense of commiseration had been washed over me and I felt like I was the only one at the table who felt it. I glanced at Coffee Bean, our head of Security. If anypony was keeping an eye on things, it was him. If that was the case however, he had an excellent poker face.

 _All the small things, I suppose._ I bit my lip as I stared down at my terrible hoof. I was not winning anything this round. What would be the point? I suppose…there really wouldn't be. We would have no use for these bits in the Stable. We were all supposed to work together in the Stable, no need for a monetary system. I could only imagine that would bring chaos and confusion at first.

"Work sucks, I know!" laughed Margarita, our Head of Science and Medicine.

"I wonder when we'll get to meet all the ponies working under us," said Blitz, of course, the Overseer.

"I'm excited too," Sugar beamed, his cheeks blushing. He was such a cute pony.

I blinked my eyes and stared back down at my hoof. I drew a card on my turn, but no such luck. Nothing was getting any better.

"I hear the Stables are all secret experiments," said Coffee Bean, his poker face not faltering a bit. I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.

"Say it ain't so!" I cocked a grin, trying to hold back a nervous laugh. I wouldn't put it past the Ministries.

"Damn, if that's the case, I will not go!" Margarita beside me folded.

"You kind of have to," Blitz shook his head. I wondered if he knew something in that instance. He looked so calculating, so ready to be Overstallion that it was a little alarming. I suppose if you put a pony into a position of power that's what would happen. He was our boss, we had to do what he said. I was proud of my friend, but at the same time I was worried he wasn't exactly fit for the responsibilities. I'd never voice that out loud though.

"I'm all in!" Coffee Bean winked and laid down his hoof. He had a royal flush. Of course he did. He was beating us all tonight.

"Faust damn!" Blitz laughed, "me too!" he laid down his own royal flush. They were both beating us tonight, though Coffee was in the lead.

"I fold," said Margarita. Coffee and Blitz were all smiles as they split the pot. I shook my head. _It was all the small things that wouldn't matter anymore, but at least we would have this. Each other._

Oh colt, how wrong I was…

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

"I fold," I said, setting my hoof down.

"Wrong move!" Cherry laughed.

"You just aren't getting any luck are you?" OJ asked.

We were all playing cards. Well, OJ and Pumpkin were watching. It was Cherry, Combat, Wonder and I playing. Buck and Ashe Erza were formulating a plan with Press and Surge in the greenhouse. I remember being good at this game, but I suppose Cherry was better. He laid down his hoof and revealed a straight flush. "Top that!" he laughed.

We were doing some actual betting, with caps involved, so it was best not to lose. Good thing I had plenty of caps. As a treasure hunter, it'd be against my creed not to collect caps as often as possible. Combat groaned and folded, "Can't believe how good you are at this game. You aren't cheating are ya? Kuz if you are I'll shoot ya."

"No I'm not." Cherry grinned. "How could I? I'm not magic."

"But we are," said Wonder, and he shot a wink toward OJ.

"Gross pone, come on!" Combat laughed, only joking. We all knew how much he wished he could get in on that action.

"There's nothing wrong with being playful!" giggled OJ and stuck his tongue out at Wonder. "Right, Wonderbolt?"

"You're most definitely right!" Wonder wiggled in his seat and gave OJ loving eyes. He was always smooth like that.

"Sorry to interrupt your game," Ashe Erza appeared behind Cherry and all his cards went everywhere, including some that we hadn't seen in his hoof previously.

"You were cheating!" Combat bellowed.

"Was not!" Cherry actively worked to pick up the cards he'd dropped and collect the caps he claimed to have won.

Combat pounced on him and they rolled around in the dirt before Erza picked the two of them up and bonked their heads together, "You two are acting childish! Get it together. We have a briefing in oh, right about now."

"Fine, fine," grumbled Combat.

"Whatever," muttered Cherry.

We followed Ashe to the greenhouse, where we met up with Buck and Surge. Press came in a little later. Surge typed a few commands into his terminal then turned to us. "The Railroad would like to meet us north of Sanctuary in a small neighborhood called Clydesdale Valley." he said.

"What's in Clydesdale Valley that's so important?" asked Combat Zone.

"We need to build an Institute Teleporter." said Ashe Erza. "We have most of the pieces we need but there is a secret location there with a hidden cash of items including a teleportation crystal. We need it to power the fast travel gate."

"And why are we meeting the Railroad?" asked Cherry.

"That's a good question, one easily answered by what they can provide us. Luckily, Blitzfire already helped them out once so they are more than willing to help us now." said Buck.

"Oh, well that's good then," I blinked.

"What is it that we get in return for our services?" Capper asked, flicking at his cuffs.

"A very much better question indeedy." said the Cheshire cat, brushing up against me as he spoke. He smiled and winked at me then disappeared again.

Press blinked in shock. Buck continued, "They going to provide a much needed Institute control panel they came across recently. It'll help us connect to the Institute's hidden servers so the teleportation crystal can detect where we need to go."

"Lastly, I'll be providing the arcane power generator to power this device," said Press. "It's the least we can do after you help our people secure Clydesdale Valley."

"What's in the neighborhood that we're securing it from?" I asked.

"There are a few feral ghouls lurking about that our ponies just haven't had the time to clean up." Press responded.

I smirked, "That should be easy enough."

"Don't get cocky, now." said Ashe Erza, staring me down. "It wouldn't look good on you if you bucked up later."

"I won't buck it up!" I said, shaking my head. "I don't make promises I can't keep." I told her.

"Very good," she nodded. "So are we all set then, or are there anymore questions for you slackers?"

"Hey, playing cards isn't slacking!" Cherry said.

"Easy for you to say, Cher, you cheated us out of good caps." Combat snarled and stuck his tongue out. I couldn't help but cock a grin, I think he got the tongue thing from OJ and it was so interesting to see how everypony had changed in the last year alone. I was glad they'd changed for the better. They were all chatty and things seemed way better than they ever had. I wondered if things would ever get better for me…

I cracked a small smile at Capper and he smiled back.

* * *

Nexus Spark

 _Pre-War: 0 Years Before The Megaspells_

Mimi was leading us to the Stable over the hill set near a small neighborhood in just southeast of the Capital. It was really close to both Ponyville, Broncston and Bittsberg. The big gear was set flat on the ground. "This here Stable was constructed to house about 2000 souls, not including your staff. There are special quarters for all staff in a separate area of the Stable." Mimi stopped us in front of the gear door. I didn't realize they could set a Stable door into the ground like this but I suppose it wouldn't be too difficult.

Coffee Bean stepped forward. "Mimi, ma'am, may I request we wait until my security detail arrives before we open the door?"

"Why's that?" she asked.

"I have planned a full assessment today, I have my orders and you have yours. Security overrides any other power in times of need."

"This doesn't appear to be a time of need," said Blitz.

"Trust me, if I say it's a time of need, I know best." said Coffee Bean. Faust, he was so full of himself! I don't think I'd be able to get along with him, but I was going to have to try. I'd be living with all these ponies for the foreseeable future.

"May I ask what spurred them to lay the entrance flat?" I asked.

"Sure!" Mimi nodded and smiled in glee. "I'm happy to answer any questions. To address yours, I was told the elevator design is the most advanced design yet. It's made to last 200 years!"

"Wait, how long were they expecting us to stay down there?" I creased my brows.

"That's another good question…" Mimi tilted her head and tried her best to come up with an answer. "Unfortunately no set time was specified. All's I was told is that the area between the Capital, Broncston and Bittsberg will most likely be a high target area."

"Why do you think I've designated this a time of need?" Coffee put forth. I suppose he was right, tensions were at their highest. I wouldn't be surprised if megaspells started going off.

"I've got another job down in Conquine and Sanctuary Hills, I'll be back once I've finished up." Mimi beamed and skipped off. She was so cheerful, I liked that about her.

"I wonder what makes this area so high priority?" Sugar asked aloud.

"There are a few military bases in this area," Coffee stated confidently, like he already knew that.

"Yes, according to some of my Stable Tech maps, there are three in the general vicinity alone." said Blitz. I hadn't received any of those maps!

"How come we don't have those maps?" asked Margarita.

"I don't know, they're all stamped 'For Overseer's eyes only'. I guess they're classified?"

"That they are, so shut your mouth," snapped Coffee. "Only two ponies in the whole Stable have all the paperwork." he stopped talking in that instance when a flash of light presented itself over the blue skies. An alarm began to sound. It was an early warning system that had gone off a bit late. There was a loud _BOOM_ and a mushroom cloud appeared in the distance.

"Oh Faust, it's started!"

There came the marching sound of armored troops coming up the hill and a full security detail appeared. "Reporting for duty sir." saluted the first security officer, wearing the most armor. His uniform was a darker shade of blue from the rest. He must be higher in the chain of command. I noticed there were about 3 different shades of blue.

Another crew came up the side of the hill, a bunch of unicorn ponies carrying crates and boxes in their magical grasps and an operator in a yellow uniform heading toward the control booth. "Open it up!" shouted Coffee Bean.

"We've got incoming residents!" yelled somepony from down the way. I wasn't sure who it was. Things were happening so fast.

The gear began to slide open and an elevator was called. Another megaspell went off in the distance, the cloud visible from here. "Isn't that going to cause a bunch of radiation?"

"It won't reach us for another 20 minutes," Blitz stated. He knew his stuff, that was for sure. "It looks like the Capital was the first target."

"That's right, now everypony onto the elevator." Coffee and his detail began shoving us. Rather rude, I thought.

"Hey! I can walk ya know!" I snapped.

"Not today you can't," Coffee spat. I was really beginning to hate this guy.

"Blitz, tell them to calm down or something!"

"I can't, this is a time of great need and I have no jurisdiction…" he was being shoved onto the elevator too. I looked down the hill as the elevator activated and I saw residents being corralled single file toward us.

"First the Department Heads, then civilians," Coffee was shouting orders. The operator switched a few levers and pressed a few buttons and the elevator jostled into life. There was an attachment of officers waiting with us. The sky disappeared as the elevator got lower and lower and the sky turned into a tiny circle of white light.

"Turn the lights off," said one of the officers in a darker blue shirt. The lights brightened instead. It must be some sort of code.

"Carry me home." said another guard, his uniform was the darkest.

The elevator came to a halt and we came to another gear door. This place was legit. "Everypony off!" snapped the last guard, and we were yet again shoved forward. The darkest shirt went to the control panel and input a few commands. The gear made a loud metalic screeching sound and rolled to the side on its hydraulics.

"You guys don't have to shove!" I yelled, but they refused to listen. They had security batons and anytime we slowed they would slap us in the flank. What was their deal? I heard the elevator activate again and it went back up, leaving us trapped below.

I looked around and spotted Blitz. He was at the front of the line and he was frowning as the guards forced him to change into a Stable Tech issued Stable 14 uniform. It was brown, orange and yellow. Ours were blue, as I came to find out when one was slapped into my grasp. "Put this on, now." snapped the guard.

"Hey! Watch it!" Sugar Pop yelped.

"We can do things for ourselves, ya know, you don't gotta be so rude about it," said Margarita.

"Blitz, what's going on?" but I couldn't see him. I could still hear him though, but I couldn't make out what he was saying.

After I put my uniform on, I was brought into the main Stable…where I learned the dark truth of our fate. Our specialized crew cabins were in fact our cold storage coffins. The guards had to fight with me to get me into one of those cryostasis pods. "This is a good thing!" snapped one of the guards.

"Keep your head still!" snapped another one. A couple others had entered and one was speaking on his radio. The last thing I saw before the pod enclosed on me was Coffee Bean coming into the room, and he said into his radio something strange. Another code phrase I imagined.

"I'll be your thrill." he was smirking as he said it and starting straight at me. He looked pleased with himself. I hoped he'd rot in tartarus, along with anypony else responsible for this. Those were my last thoughts before I woke up 200 years later to find everypony in the Stable dead. Everypony except for Blitz in his own special Overseer pod, one connected to its own generator, ensuring he wouldn't lose power no matter what happened to the rest of the Stable. That pissed me off, and it was the moment I decided Ravager Blitzfire was the one responsible for all of this.

* * *

 _200 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

"Miss me?" I asked as the pod slowly opened. I had a silver revolver to his head, the revolver Sugar Pop had used to kill himself. My horn glew with my neon green magic to levitate the weapon and my cutie mark was engraved on the side of the gun in my rage.

Blitzfire blinked, looking confused. I gritted my teeth, his dumb face fueling my rage all the more. "S-Sparky, let's be rational here. Why do you have that gun?" he chuckled, actually laughed! It made me the most pissed I'd ever been. I was tempted to pull the trigger right then and there. But I saw fear in my best friend's eyes. I thought back on my stepstallion, how he'd fallen down the stairs, how I had wished that no matter how much the pone deserved it, he hadn't died that day. I wasn't a killer, and that was the only thing that stopped me.

"You did this to them!" I growled through clenched teeth, "You did this to all of them!" I had tears forming in my eyes, trying so hard not to cry right now. I didn't know if I could help it, I had a gun to my best friend's head for crying out loud!

Yet he still protested with me, "I didn't Sparky! You know that!" his jaw was quivering and I couldn't tell if he was telling the truth or not.

I kept the gun pointed at him but I wandered over to the desk. I looked down at the documents I had pulled out from the safe, the ones declaring this Stable's mission to be freeze all the incoming residents and wake them up 200 years later. Well that had failed, hadn't it? Everypony was dead, the Stable had lost power long ago. For the ones who had made it they couldn't face the devastation and killed themselves, including our department heads. The only thing that had stopped me from pulling that trigger on myself was the thought of Blitzfire still trapped in his own pod. I couldn't bear to leave him there. Then I'd got the dumb idea to break into his safe. Curiosity killed the cat. I supposed it would kill the dog too.

I picked up his documents and stuffed them in his face. He grabbed onto them and stared down at what he could read. The top page listed specifications for the cryostasis pods. He knew, he had to of! His eyes widened.

"I read the documents in your safe. You knew long before anypony else did," but something about his expression told me it was somehow a shock. But he could just be in shock from waking up with a gun to his temples. "You let them put me in that thing. How could you Blitzy?" my tears streamed freely now. I walked back up to his pod, keeping myself in front of him and him in my sights at all times.

He said, "I didn't have a choice! Please understand." but I didn't understand. Everypony was dead! How could I even begin to comprehend that?

"You were my friend. Just look at what you've done. Come on, come look." Using my magic, I gestured with the gun for him to get out of his pod. I was going to show him the pain he'd caused. I was going to show him Sugar Pop. He got out, a bit shaky and I waved the gun again. "Come on."

I wandered through the Stable, first the resident pods, they were between here and the greenhouses. As we wandered through I saw how horrified my friend was. At least he revelled in the terrible tragedy he may have caused. Maybe I didn't have all my information, but I was still sad and angry. Nothing would change that.

As we walked, I thought about one of the documents I had read. I had stolen it, kept it in my pocket. It was a detailed letter about the Institute of Friendship, a secret organization Twilight had created after shutting down her school. I had found it intriguing to read about, and maybe once this was all over I'd follow the maps I'd taken that related to the Institute. It was all on crumpled and folded pieces of paper in the pocket of my navy blue Maintenance uniform. It was a big maybe. I didn't know what the world outside was like in the slightest. All I knew was that if that was my plan, I was heading to Broncston.

We came to the room I'd brought most of the dead bodies. It was a long greenhouse chamber. I'd shoved all the planting tables aside and brought the bodies here. I had found some white sheets in the infirmary, where I had found yet more pods. All our staff had been frozen along with us, and all our staff had died too. The ones who'd woken up and found the death had killed themselves, mostly in random places. So here they were, under bloodied white sheets in their final resting place. At the very end was Sugar, he'd chosen a good final resting place, one of the very few ponies who had had sense. I hadn't covered him up. I had wanted Blitz to see.

Blitz took a few steps back, his expression sickened, "Did you bring them here?" he had noticed the trails of blood.

"Of course I did! I couldn't leave them rotting. I had to have the common decency to bring them somewhere that wasn't out in the open where they'd all left themselves." I spat. I was feeling disgusted, but mostly with the nasty scent lingering in this room. Rotting bodies.

"What happened to them?" Blitz asked.

I shook my head, "They killed themselves." I thought it would be obvious, Sugar had a bullet hole in the center of his head. "They couldn't bear the pain of what they saw in those pods. But I had to stay alive, if only to avenge the ones that died."

Blitz sounded scared, "What are you gonna do?"

I raised my gun again, pointing it directly at Blitz's forehead. My aim was steady but something kept me from finishing it. I really hated…this. Did I really hate Blitz? That was something I couldn't answer. More tears formed in my eyes as I stared angrily at my ex-best friend. He deserved to die. So why couldn't I pull the trigger? That's when he tried to argue with me. When I had to chase him down through the Stable, when he got ahold of my gun, the silver .44 magnum revolver that had my cutie mark engraved on the side. He escaped and we went on our separate ways.

I didn't have much of a plan, but I suppose I'd start with the documents in my pocket. I sat on my haunches on the elevator as I waited for it to lift me to my fate. _It was all the small things,_ I kept telling myself. Maybe Blitz really had been oblivious. I started crying, not knowing what I was going to do. I didn't want to kill Blitzfire…I just wanted my friend back…I still had anger towards him, but all I could do now was sob.


	31. Chapter 29 Feeding the Fire

**Chapter 29** Feeding the Fire

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time: 207 Years After the Incident of Stable 14_

We approached Clydesdale Valley Proper and hid behind a stone wall. I saw the feral ghouls the second we were there, and I realized it may be a much bigger task than we had first thought. It was a good thing we had so many friends with us. We were a battalion, nothing would get in our way.

"I see a sparkling ghoul," said OJ and I peered over the top of the wall. He was right. There was a sparkling ghoul. It was shining with rainbow colored arcana radiation and his mane was swirling like an alicorn's. Well, like most alicorns, OJ's didn't have any magical attributes. Not until he started using magic at least.

"I can take it out, easy." he stuck his tongue out at us.

"Not until we take out its minions. If we alert them they will fall on us like the horde they are." Lady Ashe explained. "We must take out the minions first."

"I kind of agree with OJ on this one, Ashe," said Buck. "That guy is our biggest concern."

"Why not just split up? Some of you take on the smaller ghouls, Capper, Cheshire and I will take on the bigger ghouls and Buck and OJ can work on killing the sparkling one." I said, my voice harsh. I needed to take command or nothing would get done.

All the ponies agreed and there were few grumblings before we decided on our teams. Buck took OJ, Wonder, Cherry and Riggs Bailey with him around the other side of the small houses on the right. They would sneak around so we were surrounding the ghouls. Ashe led her team; Pumpkin Spice, Felia Heart and Joyride, straight into the midst of all the little ghouls, the ones easily taken out. I took Capper, Cheshire, Combat and Salem around the left side, ducking behind cars and food stalls that had been abandoned a long time ago. They were rusted out husks now.

"Everypony ready?" asked as I located the toughest ghouls on my EFS compass.

"Yessir," Capper snickered at me and Salem joined in on his laughter.

"Now's not the time," I snapped but Capper's smile was contagious and I had to smile back at my tomfriend.

"Now is always the time," said Combat.

"Okay," I pointed toward the battlefield, showing off the hardest of the feral ghouls. "Combat, you take that one, Capper take the one nearest to it and help Combat if at all necessary. Salem, with me. There are those two laying there pretending to be dead."

"They must be pretty smart then," Salem said.

"That's what makes them dangerous." I told him.

"Not as smart as me, I'm sure," he was cocky.

"Let's do it!" I shouted and we ran forward of the cars, joining Ashe's team on the field. It was a small lot in front of a couple houses. My hooves crunched through the dirt and I started shooting at the two ghouls lying on the ground. They got up and stared angrily at me for disturbing their rest. Salem leaped forward, and he had flames on his claws. He slashed one and it caught fire. It screeched and tried to bite Salem, but the black cat easily dodged.

"It's bad luck to cross a black cat, you know." he smiled and slashed out again, this time using water to douse the flames. The ghoul was shoved back.

Meanwhile, my ghoul reared back on his hind legs, whinnying incomprehensible and rearing out at me, trying to kick me with its forelegs. I shot at its stomach and it fell backward. Then it got back up, still in the fray. I shook my head and used some of my magic at my disposal as the Element of Vigilance. My hooves glowed with red magic and Capper nearby winked at me as he enhanced my abilities the way he liked to. I felt powerful, energized and ready to face this beast. My revolver glowed with red and purple magic and I fired a few orbs at the ghoul, conserving my bullets.

"Die, piece of shit!" I heard Combat yelling. He needed a little help, as two big ghouls were rearing on him. I had just killed mine so I ran toward him and flipping around on my front legs I bucked out at the ghoul lashing toward Combat. My back hooves connected with the ghoul's chest and I heard a loud crunch. I felt its bones break beneath my hooves and I grimaced as it collapsed, dead.

"You're pretty spunky!" Combat laughed at me as he fired his shotgun at the second ghoul. Some blue orbs of light appeared around the bullets and I saw that Combat's eyes were glowing the same color. We were all taking advantage of our newfound abilities.

"As are you," I laughed as I fired at the same ghoul. It was thrown back and it tried to get up but I stood over it and fired a couple bullets into its brain.

The field was cleared of feral ghouls in that instance, besides the sparkling one. I looked over there and saw they were having a hard time with it. Orange Juice was thrown back by a burst of magic and he reared on his hind legs, then on all fours took a low defensive stance, his horn glowing with a powerful turquoise light. He shot a huge focused beam at the sparkling one. It screeched and absorbed the magic. Buck was firing a minigun at it. I saw Cherry pumping a semi-automatic combat shotgun, obviously a heavily modified weapon. The chamber spun as he pulled the trigger, about 4 to 6 bullets all firing at once before he had to pump it again. He was yelling, " _Yahh!_ "

Erza rushed forward, her team ready to help deal with the sparkling one. Joy was in the air, flapping his wings and Felia was enhancing him with her violet red magic. He whooped and tossed some throwing stars that way. The sparkling one reared back in that moment of impact and I realized that OJ's magic wasn't doing any good. In fact, it was doing the opposite. I shouted to Ashe Erza, "Colonel! That thing is absorbing magic to heal itself!"

Erza nodded to me and requipped into a different suit of armor. She had two blades and tossed one toward OJ while calling, "Orange Juice, catch this!"

Orange Juice caught it up in his magic and used it at once to slash out at the ghoul. It jumped back, adept at dodging. "Gah!" Orange yelled and ran forward, slicing with all his might. The ghoul had learned to avoid him, besides that, OJ had no swordsmanship practice; he was terrible at it. I aimed my revolver and fired off a few rounds. The ghoul couldn't dodge bullets. A magical barrier was put up, blocking the oncoming ammo. I yelled in frustration and we all regrouped behind that same wall.

"He seems quite aware of all our abilities," said Ashe Erza.

"He did just watch us take out his minions," I said.

"I think we need to feed him some pockey!" Pumpkin Spice yelled and I saw her jump onto the top of the wall. She pulled from her saddle bags two large sticks of pockey, the size of one of Erza's swords. "Hey big ol' meanie!" she shouted and it came blundering up to us. She smashed it down on his head like a club. It screamed and I saw him reach up to rub its head. Pumpkin just kept on going, smash, smash, smash! She beat it back and jumped off the wall. I kind of felt bad for it, Pumpkin was vicious.

She beat it to a pulp and its glow faded away to nothing. A burst of energy shot from it and then fizzled away. "Hey! Looks like I win a prize!" having beat it like a pinata, and it being made of magic, candy had spilled from its guts, quite surprisingly. We all stared wide eyed as Pumpkin picked up the pieces of candy and stuffed it into her pouch. "What?" she said when she noticed all of us staring at her. "I love collecting Niponese candy."

"That's just gross," said Capper, putting one finger in his mouth and making the bleh face.

"I have to say I don't disagree with you there," Ashe Erza said. Buck was nodding and Combat was laughing.

"I'll get in on some of that!" he called and ran forward to grab some gut candy. Buck's cheeks puffed out as though he was about to vomit.

"I'm not getting on that bandwagon," he shook his head.

OJ followed after Combat and asked Pumpkin, "Can I have some candy?"

"Of course! You helped us beat the pinata pony, don't even think anything of it." Pumpkin encouraged him. I saw him pick up a Hi-Chew and unwrapping it, popped it into his mouth. I winced at that, thinking how gross it was that the candy had literally spilled from its guts. "Pray you don't get sick."

"Oh think nothing of it," Pumpkin patted OJ on the back. "Gut candy is still candy."

The strands of taffy between OJ's top and bottom teeth were fully visibly as he said with a wide smile, "You got that right, Pumpkin!" he was giggling like a school colt.

The Minute Hooves moved in, smiling and all shouting cheers of victory. We were all happy with our progress in the small village. We met up with the Minute Hooves near the houses in the square where the Railroad had gathered too. "It is good you cleared this place out for us, now we can set up a new settlement and another fast travel gate," said a Minute Hoof mare. She was all smiles, as were her crew. I saw one pony setting up a shop stand, the sign reading Callout's Brews and Bottles. I walked up to him, tapping him on the shoulder.

"What is it you got going on here?" I asked him.

"Hey there! I sell potions as well as spirits." he grinned toothily. He had crooked teeth.

"I suppose I'd like to buy a round of drinks for my friends and I, we do deserve it after all."

"I'll even throw in a victor's discount!" he laughed and began pouring some hard cider.

I opened my mouth to call to my friends when suddenly there was a loud explosion. It was on the edge of the village and there I saw a pink light form in the mushroom cloud. Somepony had used a mini nuke on us. "What was that?" I heard somepony call.

"We are under attack!" yelled another pony.

I ran toward my friends, apparently this wasn't over yet. But ghouls didn't use explosives or nukes. Who's pink magic could that be. Ashe Erza galloped up to me, "It is Priscilla and a small group of synths."

"That's not good."

"No, I can't say it is."

We rejoined our friends, and I already saw them preparing for the battle ahead. Capper had his kitty claws raised and he gave me a confident grin. I stood tall by his side and nodded to him while I activated my own red magic on my hooves. I had one hoof raised, bent at the carpus. I noticed Cheshire feeding energy to Capper and he smiled that wide smile at me as he floated through the air with ease. I saw turquoise magic on OJ's horn heat up and red magic on Erza's do the same. Buck had a large energy gun, Pumpkin Spice had her cherry bombs. She rather liked those. Combat had a semi-automatic and Cherry had a shotgun. Heart was already in the air in her violet red aura, and Joy was just now jumping up and gaining his wings. Salem was on Capper's other side, fire magic in one fist and water magic in the other, dual wielding.

We were all prepared for the worst, as the upcoming battle had been a bit unexpected. I was disappointed because we hadn't even had time to drink our victory drinks. It was like, give me a break! But in the wasteland, there were no such things as breaks. You had to be on your toes at all times. This settlement wasn't ours until we showed the synths and ashlings who was boss. Time to feed the fire, fan the flames of war. Because that's what this was, a war, and we would not lose. Not at any cost.

Ashe was the tallest of us all, and she started the fight off with a burst of magic from her horn. She targeted the nearest ashlings, keeping them pushed back. Suddenly the area around us grew dark and I noticed there were a few darklings in the mix too. I didn't like that, not one bit. Those darklings were a bit unnerving. It was too bad Double Diamond's doppelgänger tended toward that style of darkness magic because I hated having to fight them.

"I'm on cleanup duty!" I called, getting angry. Capper followed me and I tossed a few orbs at the nearest darkling. The first few hits were absorbed like it was nothing, then I got through and they began screeching at me and rearing back on their hindlegs.

This battle was not about to be easy on us…

"Capper, enhancements, now!" I yelled as a darkling charged me and I saw the Light magic building up. It had collected enough energy to attack and I was not prepared to see what their attacks looked like. I was hit full force before Capper could do anything and I was thrown backward on my haunches. I skidded a ways and cried out in pain. I had to ignore the pain, getting up and yelling at the top of my lungs in fury. I focused some magical energy on all four of my hooves and I jumped and kicked out at the darklings circling around me. They screamed and I laughed, "Die you fuckers!"

"I got you babe," Capper called and I saw Cheshire flying at full speed toward me. He got on my back, sitting on my and riding me like a horse. I mean, I suppose it wasn't a difficult thing to do, I was a pony, but it did feel a bit demeaning.

"I am thick as the thistle, fine as a thorn." Cheshire whispered in my ear. "Yah I say, yah!" I felt his heels dig into my sides and suddenly magic filled me and I felt fire in my veins. By Faust! I jumped forward, galloping at full speed. I felt my red fire magic all around me, not just on my hooves. Maybe it wasn't so bad having Cheshire ride me, though I felt as though I looked pretty stupid with a cat on my back.

I barrelled through the first few darklings and then I realized just how far behind enemy lines I was. I was coming up on a few ashlings and Cheshire yelled, "Whoa, whoa! Easy does it little pony." He eased up on the heels and I slowed down. It was like he was able to control me. Then I realized he had some sort of magical harness and he was pulling back on the straps. I whinnied and reared back, feeling a bit angry at being manipulated. There was nothing for it now, for I knew I hadn't ever felt more powerful.

"With the Element of Vigilance at my command I fare thee well," Cheshire said to the nearest ashling. "Blitz, fire!" My eyes filled with furious light and fire magic encircled me like a centralized tornado. It spun all around in a fury and the ashlings backed away from me slowly. I heard one yell, "Run!" right before my fire exploded outward with the force of a dozen megaspells. I had been Cheshire's trojan horse, delivering a sweet sweet care package upon our enemies. I don't think they cared for it.

A few of them now lie dead in the dust and I smirked. "How do you like them apples?"

"I don't think they liked those apples at all." said Cheshire and pulled on the reigns. I turned about and he had me trot back over to the main battlefield. The battlefield where my friends and our allies still fought with more than a few ashlings and synths. I saw Priscilla sitting back enjoying the show.

"What do we do now?" I asked Cheshire atop me. I think I was getting used to him being the white knight upon my back on the chessboard that was this battleground.

"I say we try to appease the red queen, but I doubt she would listen." Cheshire told me.

"Has that ever stopped you before?"

"No, I dare say not."

"Then the red queen it is. Knight to A5!" I shouted and we galloped to Priscilla Pen-Rose.


	32. Chapter 30 Have Your Cake and Eat It

**Chapter 30** Have Your Cake and Eat It

"If we take out Priscilla first, then the rest are sure to follow," I said as we moved quickly aft of the battle field. Priscilla was like a princess, privileged as she sat back and watched events unfold. She was so preoccupied she didn't even see us coming. I ran straight at her, my head lowered and flames rolling off me. Cheshire was yelling but I couldn't hear him over the roar of my magic.

I charged her and yelled, "Yahhhh!" and she had wide eyes when she realized what speeding bullet was on her way. Me. I smashed into her and she screeched then went crashing through the stone wall here. I saw she was unconscious. I doubled back and stood in front of her, making sure she was really down. "She's not getting up anytime soon," said Cheshire. "She'll miss tea time."

I turned around and peered across the battlefield. I had been right, the ashlings were regrouping and the synths had all fallen. I smiled as I saw Buck approaching and he nodded to me as he passed. Priscilla was just coming to as Buck was slapping a pair of hoof cuffs on her. "You fools!" she screamed and tried to resist but I lifted a hoof with an orb in it and glared at her. She was quiet then.

"I think we could use a Courser Magistrate, don't you?" asked Buck.

"I mean, we don't have any pylons, but she does have a horn and the capabilities to travel to and from the Institute. I'd say we got lucky." I agreed with Buck and walked side by side with him. Cheshire was gone, I saw him across the way by Capper's side. When we got there I gave Capper a huge kiss and he grinned.

"To the victor goes the spoils huh?"

"Do I spoil you?" I asked him.

"Maybe just a little bit." He held his index near his thumb paw pad.

"I think those ashlings are going to circle back!" called Heart as she sank back to the ground.

"Don't worry," said Pumpkin Spice as she rolled a huge pink and blue cannon onto the scene.

"Where in the…?" Buck's voice trailed off.

"We're gonna need some more supplies, to make a really big surprise…" Pumpkin was singing quietly to herself as she prepped the cannon. I wondered what was in it. The ashlings stopped their advance when they saw what Pumpkin was up to. They began to back pedal. Then Pumpkin had a match and she lit it on the side of the canon. Next she went to the back, aimed it and lit the fuse. "She'll be so shocked, she's sure to love it too!" she giggled and the fuse blew. Out popped a huge cake, heading straight for the ashlings.

I saw the confused looks on their faces and I can't say I blame them. It was a cake after all. What harm could a cake…It landed right on top of them and they popped out of the top, about 8 feet off the ground. The candles were somehow lit too. Pumpkin always had some sort of party trick up her sleeve, a good thing too. The candles' wicks were getting shorter and shorter and the ashlings stared with wide eyes as they realized they weren't candles but sticks of dynamite! "Shit!" I heard one shout and then the cake went _blewy!_

The ashlings were toast, their parts scattered in a million different directions. A leg landed in front of me and I backed up right away to avoid it touching me. "Good going Pumpkin," said Buck.

"Don't thank me just yet, I still have one more surprise on the books."

"Oh I don't think we need one more surprise." Buck shook his head.

"Awe pone!" she pouted but cantered off, dragging her party cannon with her.

* * *

Orange Juice

" _Have y'all heard? Clydesdale Valley is now another safe haven in a long list of safe havens the Minute Hooves have set up all around Broncston. I hear they got some help from Fort ponies, some sort of alliance going on. I mentioned that before but I'd like to touch on it again. With the Fort's help, the Minute Hooves have managed to set up more settlements around Broncston than any I've ever seen before. Keep it up y'all, you're fightin' the good fight. Now, what's this all leading up to? I don't know, but there is a summit taking place between the Minute Hooves, Railroad and the Fort ponies over in Clydesdale Valley. They just won a huge battle over there, and I wonder what the win means for them. Stay tuned for some more updates, now here's yesterday's hits. DJ Pon3 oww-woww-out!"_

Music started playing and I smiled as I clinked my glass against the glasses of my friends in a toast. We really had won a huge battle, an important battle. Now we had Priscilla in our custody and somehow that made me feel happy. There was a chance now we'd be able to save her. We had her moonstone, so she wouldn't be using it any time soon, meaning she may come off its evil magic all on her own. We would have to see the Guardian told me.

For now, we celebrated as the Railroad and Minute Hooves worked to set up the pieces they had brought. Blitz and Capper were helping a little, as were some of my group, but it seemed they didn't need our help as much other than connecting the pieces. As I understood it there was a control panel connected to a fast travel gate that had been set up where Ashe Erza had placed a Dalemascan teleportation crystal right in the center of. She had activated its magicks in that way she did, where the ruby red lines were swirling with the golden lines. I held up the teleportation stone I carried with me, the one that Priscilla had given me and Erza had modified. It definitely matched.

There were wires everywhere and I saw a few of them were connected to an arcana generator. It hummed with energy and I noticed the control panel was vibrating with that same energy. Everything was close to starting. "Don't you need a wire from the control panel to the crystal?" I asked. "Otherwise, how will it control the destination?"

"Smart thinking, babe," Wonder winked at me and went to tell somepony. At that point everything was connected to each other and it seemed all ready to go.

"You're all going to fail." called Priscilla from her cell. I walked up to the jail and entered.

"Why do you say that?" I asked her as I got close to her cage.

"You have no idea who or what you're dealing with. You enter that Institute and the Maker will not hesitate to kill you."

"It seems that you're the one who isn't hesitating." I stuck my tongue out then continued, "You're not supposed to be evil, Prissy…it's the moonstone. You got it from the ashlings, right?"

"Why would I tell you my source of power?" she narrowed her eyes. Then she caved under my gaze. "Fine! Yes, I got it from the ashlings. What of it?"

"Then the Institute may not be as scary as you make it out to be."

"Maybe, maybe not. There's no way of knowing."

"Well, I'm willing to take the risk if it means saving you." I told her.

She rolled her eyes, "How very noble."

"OJ!" Pumpkin Spice called to me from just outside the jail. "Come on slowpoke, everyone's waiting!"

We cantered up to the teleportation crystal sitting within the folds of the fast travel gate. It was magic swirling on magic, and energy flowed from every which way. It was a spectacle to look at. "It's like a multilayered cake," Pumpkin Spice was licking her lips.

"It certainly isn't for eating," Ashe Erza said.

Pumpkin pouted, "I know, but I certainly wish I could eat it."

"Is it time to go?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at the jail house. I could still see Priscilla's cage and I hated to see her locked up, much like I once was. It wasn't fair. I really hoped the Maker was a good pony.

"Some final preparations are being done," the Guardian walked up, "then we can go."

"Making sure every wire is in its proper place." said a Railroad pony. "This is some high tech stuff!" she gasped.

"You guys got this though, right?" asked Blitz, looking weary. It had been a long day and we were all exhausted from the recent battle.

"Of course we got this," a Minute Hoof soldier nodded at us. "Just give us a minute and the destination will be set for the belly of the Institute."

"Wherever that is," I stared down at the dirt between my hooves, head bowed. I couldn't bear another minute being free while Priscilla was locked away. It just wasn't fair. I wanted to leave right now, so that I could find the Maker and force him to fix her.

"Exactly, wherever that is. Why do you think the calibration is so difficult? It's like the gate knows where it's supposed to go, thanks to the crystal, but at the same time, it's just lost." said the Railroad mare.

"At least we're working on it." I stepped up to the gate and I felt a warmth emanating from somewhere near me. It was in my saddle bags. I used my magic to lift the stone Prissy had given me. The gate brightened, swirling fast.

"By Faust! No wonder it wouldn't work! It was locked!" somepony yelled.

"He's unlocking it!" another pony called.

"OJ," Ashe Erza put a hoof on my shoulder, "Keep doing what you're doing."

"Okay!" I nodded and walked closer to the gate. The closer I got the faster it spun, and the crystal started to float in the air. It was spinning too, in the opposite direction. It was like a gyroscope and my eyes went round and around with it.

"OJ! Leave the key or we won't be able to follow!" I heard Ashe's voice from very far away. I looked over my shoulder and realized just how deep into the gate I was. I tossed the stone in my magic back through the gate and saw Ashe catch it up in her own magic. I nodded firmly and promptly and then I continued on my way. This gate was long, like a tunnel, nothing like the other fast travel gates I'd used before.

I felt a breeze on my fur, and I whinnied in delight. It was the kind of breeze you felt on a warm summer's day, or I imagined it would be, since I never actually experienced a true summer. But all in all, this breeze was nice. I liked the way it brushed through my fur and the way it caught in my mane, playing with me. I giggled and shook my hips in happiness. Then my hooves touched cold metal and I jumped back, out of the gate and in a new place entirely. This place was spinning too, and it hurt my head to look at. It was all around me. Then it stopped and the door opened.

"Admit one." said a computerized mare's voice. I stepped through the doorway and I heard her again, "Admit two." Ashe was behind me and she came through. "Admit three…" on and on until finally, "Admit thirteen. Anomaly detected. Admit fourteen." Capper and Blitz had been the last ones through and I saw Cheshire flowing through as well, since he wasn't all there he must be the anomaly.

We were in a small generator room, computer banks all along the walls and a small one in the middle of the room. All lights all around and they flashed in sequences, letting us know exactly what, I wasn't sure. It probably made more sense to Blitzfire or the Guardian…

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

We spread out into the room and I looked around in awe. This place was like a candy land for anypony with tech experience. I had experience in a lot of things, and computers were one of them. "This must be what powered that pod we all came out of." I looked over my shoulder at the spinning room, now no longer spinning.

"It looks like some sort of control mechanism," Ashe Erza was examining the computer in the center of the room. I walked around and took a look too. It definitely looked like a control panel, not dissimilar to the one we'd set up in Clydesdale Valley.

The computerized mare's voice spoke again, "Please proceed to the elevator."

"I can't believe we're actually here," said Buck as we all trotted over to the elevator. It dinged open and we all boarded. It was a huge thing, surprisingly plenty of room for all fourteen of us. It went up, up and up and what was revealed to us was a vast underground city. The elevator was made of glass and we could see the ponies all bustling about. Some turned to stare at us before they went about their business. The elevator came to a stop at a skywalk overlooking the main promenade.

"This place is beautiful!" Pumpkin Spice gasped.

"I'm with you there," OJ nodded and we exited the elevator oohing and awing.

A blue unicorn mare in a lab coat walked up to us and we all halted. "My goodness! With the current crisis we expected visitors, but damn are you late!" she clicked a pen in her magical grasp and wrote something on a clipboard. "My name is Flight Control." she told us.

"Late?" asked Riggs in a huff, "How dare you! Where's my son?"

"We are keeping him safe. If you follow me this way, I can introduce you to the Maker."

"Who is this Maker anyway?" I asked.

"You'll find out, won't you?" she led us on and I was growing irritated with her.

"You mean to tell us that you've been expecting us this whole time?" Buck questioned.

She looked over her shoulder and clicked her pen a few times. "Why wouldn't we? When one of our Courser Magistrates strays from the path we set her on we take a great interest. When you first did battle with her, Colonel, we were very pleased with both your efforts and hers."

"Wait, you were pleased, even though you are disappointed with her path?" Ashe Erza cocked her head.

"We collected a lot of valuable data." was all she said.

We went down a winding path and through a doorway where we came across another doorway across from here and a staircase leading up. The lab coat stopped and turned to us. "What's up, doc?" Combat laughed and that got a few snickers from Cherry and Salem.

"You can all go ahead, Blitzfire, you stay here for a moment, I was asked by a colleague to give you a short pep talk."

"A short pep talk?" I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes.

"I stay where Blitz stays," said Capper.

The mare nodded, "That is fine." Capper stayed with me while the others headed upstairs. OJ's eyes watched me as he went away until he could no longer see me.

* * *

Orange Juice

"So we just go to the top of these stairs…or…?" the second I was unable to see Blitz was when I stared straight ahead. The Guardian was ahead of me and he was walking rather slowly. Riggs Bailey did a trot as he walked up the stairs and in general. I thought the way he walked, picking his feet up high and going clickity-clack was the cutest thing ever. I really hoped we'd find his boy here.

"Hello," an all gray synth with gray eyes approached us and both the Colonel and the Guardian drew weapons at once. "Oh, there is no need to fear me. I am uncorrupted unlike the synths you have encountered out in the wastes." she said politely. "I am No. 867B and I am here to guide you to the Maker, glory be him."

"Wait, so you worship this stallion?"

"Not worship persay, just glad for him." the synth mare beamed at us over her shoulder before staring straight ahead, leading us to the maker. We passed a glass wall and on the other side was a drop to the area below. We came to another staircase and the synth said, "Up this way is the Maker's office. I can go no further. Thank you for visiting the Institute today. If you need further assistance I shall remain here." the synth stopped and turned about, stationing herself at the bottom of the stairs.

"She's quite unnerving, if I may say so," whispered Ashe to Buck.

"You may," Buck nodded his agreeance.

There was a set of doors at the top of the stairs and a control panel on the wall. Beside the door was a shaded window. Buck clicked the control panel and the door hissed open on its hydraulics. Inside was a huge glass wall the radstag colt laying on a bed behind it. There was a door to the left of the bed. The Maker was at a computer station and he seemed to be caught off guard by our sudden arrival. He was a black colored unicorn pony wearing a green coat, the collar folded up. His eyes were neon green and his mane was three shades of green. He had a nexus of neon green lines making their way upward on his flank, his cutie mark.

He had on a white earpiece and he tapped it, "Does nopony tell me anything anymore? "Next time you send me visitors, Flight Control, I'd like to be notified." there was a short pause and he then said, "No, I'm not mad. Just a little annoyed. Thank you." Then he turned his attention on us. Tapping the earpiece again, presumably to turn it off now, he said, "I am sorry, I am a little unprepared for your arrival."

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"We've been watching you for a very long time and I have to say, the Maker is not happy that you're here."

"Me specifically or…?"

"You specifically. He's glad your team has brought Riggs Bailey along for sure."

"Why him specifically?" asked Capper.

"A conundrum to be certain," Cheshire floated into view. Flight Control lifted a small pen looking device and a light emitted from it. She shined it in Capper's direction and Cheshire was illuminated. "Oh!" he gasped. "It tickles."

"I imagine it does. You're a synthetic program, this arcana emitter is designed to detect rogue programs."

"I'm a rogue program she says!" Cheshire giggled into his hands.

"You're quite the anomaly, the Maker would love to take a closer look at you."

"What makes him an anomaly?"

"A rogue Wonderland program out wandering free in the wasteland? It's a mystery to be sure."

I rolled my eyes, "If you knew how he came to be with us it isn't such a mystery."

"Then explain it."

"Right!" I nodded, taken aback. "Well, the Wonderland program was being used as a training program by some Children of Arcana over on Cumberland. Cheshire got downloaded into Capper's brain quite by accident."

"Knowing where he is could help us isolate him and print him a new synthetic body."

"Print?" Capper cocked his head, a little confused.

"Exactly! If you'd like, he could become real. Or, well, more real than he already is."

"I would like that." Capper gushed.

"Hey now!" I nudged him.

"You know what I mean," he shrugged.

"Okay, okay." I nodded.

"Once your friends are done with the Maker, I will lead them on a tour of the facilities, until then, let me bring you two on that tour while we wait."

"Sounds good," I nodded and the two of us followed her away from the stairs.

* * *

Orange Juice

Riggs rushed forward, a gun in his hoof, "You tell me why you have my boy in a glass cage and there won't be any troubles, mate." he snapped.

The Maker used magic to lower the gun away from his face. "If that weapon goes off in here and damages any of the equipment, your boy very well could die."

"What?! Why's that?" Riggs backed up a few steps.

The Maker lowered his eyes, looking deeply upset, "He's dying and I can't figure out why. His body is full of radiation."

"He was just fine when your people picked him up." Riggs stared between the Maker and the glass cage, fear in his eyes.

"Actually, that's where you're mistaken. He's been ill for a very long time. There's dark arcana in his heart, something I cannot identify."

"Do you even know what's going on in the wastes?" Buck stepped forward, taking the gun from Rigg's hoof and pocketing it.

"Not particularly, no. I never had any need to." the Maker shrugged.

"Then you are a damned fool," said Ashe Erza.

"What brings you to that conclusion?" asked the Maker.

"You're synths are running wild, none knowing what their purpose is and so losing themselves in the process. The few who do find purpose stray from their original path and become free synths. Most of those synths are now evil or part of a hive mind, also evil."

"That was not my intention!" the Maker went to a computer bank and clacked a few keys. He then turned back to us and clicked his earpiece. "Get me a 10-20 on all my top side synths." there was a short pause, "What do you mean you don't have the locations of all my synths? You what!?" he clicked his earpiece. "I'm sorry, this problem has not been brought to my attention before. I'll look into it. I've had a lot on my plate."

Riggs had tears in his eyes as he walked up to the glass and touched a hoof gingerly to it, "Can I see him?"

"I would like to take a look at him too, if neither of you mind," said Ashe Erza.

"He may be contagious." said Nexus. "That's why he's behind the glass barrier."

"Then give them oxygen mask thingies, you know the kind nurses wear?" I put forth. I hoped they knew what I meant.

"Surgical masks. Of course. Sorry, my brain is scattered of late." he went and got them some masks. "As for the rest of you, I'm going to have Flight Control take you on a quick tour."

"Wait a moment!" Buck snapped, "I still have a few questions to ask you."

"You can ask me later. I have something I need to get done now."

"Fine…but we aren't finished." he said.

"Not by a long shot." said the Maker and Flight Control appeared to lead us out of the room.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

My eyes were wide when I saw him…"Nexus?"


	33. Chapter 31 The Dark Before the Light

**Chapter 31** The Dark Before the Light

"How dare you show your face here." Nexus Spark snarled as he turned to face me. His eyes told a multitude of stories, all ranging through cycles of rage and sorrow and back again. My heart pounded and I knew I was on a sailing ship that was going down. Nexus lowered his head, horn pointed straight at me and I saw what he intended to do before he did it. He started to charge at me, his horn about to become my skewer. I immediately grabbed the revolver from its holster and yelled, "Stop!" tears were welling in my eyes, I hated having to draw on my ex best friend.

Nexus did stop, inches from the barrel. He stared at it and spoke, "It would seem time has caught up with us."

I nodded, "So it has. Look, I don't want to shoot you Nexy."

"Don't call me that," Nexus spat.

"Okay…Nexus."

Nexus stared me in the eyes then looked back at the gun. Back and forth his eyes darted until I realized he was building up a spell on his horn. Too late for me to do anything about it, he used his magic to yank the gun from my grasp. I threw up a magical shield right as he began firing. Not one, not two, but five shots before he finally realized he'd wasted the bullets. "There's only one bullet left, and it should be reserved for you."

I lowered my shield, "Nexus, I've been through too much and come too far to let you shoot me now. OJ's in the next room for crying out loud!"

"Oh, so now you care about anypony other than yourself?" I saw the gun was wavering in his grip. Maybe he didn't want to shoot me.

My lower lip quivered and I felt a tear fall, "You never even gave me a chance to explain myself."

"Then do it. Give me a good reason not to shoot you where you stand. I doubt you can throw up another shield fast enough to block the next bullet heading straight for you."

"I should've told you, okay, I've always regretted not telling you what was waiting for us down in that Stable. But listen! I didn't know they were including the department heads. I thought it was only residents…" I took a step toward him and he lowered the gun just a little more.

"You thought it was only residents getting frozen and somehow that makes it better? If I'm being honest, that makes it seem a little worse." his gun still lowered even as he said it. Now it was pointed at my chest.

"I'm only trying to say, if I had known it was all of us, if I had known the security team was going to turn on us, I would've said something. I made a mistake I've regretted since the day you woke me up. If you want to shoot me go ahead, because Nexus…" more tears streamed down my face as I got ever closer to him. I finally knew what it was that I had been searching for for so long and why I had never been able to find it. All those Stable-Tech maps didn't mean a damn thing with Nexus standing right in front of me. "All this time I've been searching for treasure when all along I've had it right here. I've been searching for so long, and I finally know it's you. Nexus, I've loved you for so long."

Nexus had tears in his eyes too and he dropped the pistol, "But Blitz, I've hated you for so much longer!" Our faces were inches apart and we stared into each others eyes. All thoughts of anypony but myself and him were gone. I felt my heart thumping and new what I wanted. Nexus gasped but didn't stop me when I planted a kiss on his lips. He actually melted right into it. I was a little surprised that he didn't fight me, but instead let me part his lips as the kiss became more passionate. I grew scared instantly and I jumped away when thoughts of Capper crossed my mind.

"By Faust!" we both exclaimed. I stared at him with curious eyes and he backed up a few paces, his rump hitting the computer bank just behind him. "I don't think…you should've done that…" Nexus said, but he didn't look to sure of himself. I felt a tinge of regret, I knew if Capper had seen he would be upset.

"You can have your gun back if you'd like…" I nodded toward the pistol on the floor.

"Keep it. I don't like being reminded of Sugar Pop laying there like that." he kicked it over to me.

"I understand. It makes me think of you every time I use it." I hoofed it, feeling the grooves of Nexus' cutie mark on the side of the silver gun.

"I hope not in a bad way…I'm sorry I attacked you. I just…I have a lot of feelings of anger and resentment toward you. I kind of have an automatic response…I never knew how I'd react if I ever saw you again."

"It's okay. I deserve it." I bowed my head.

"No, Blitz. I can't stay angry at you. If we're ever going to move forward we both have to accept that you don't deserve my fury." he patted me on the shoulder and I locked eyes with him. For the first time in a long time I felt relief. "If anything, Stable-Tech deserves our rage. In my travels through the wasteland it was clear to see that Stable-Tech caused most of our problems."

"Why do you think I was hunting for their treasures for so long?" I laughed. Nexus withdrew his hoof.

"I see you two are getting along nicely," said Capper behind me. I spun around and my face was furiously flushed.

"Capper! How are you?" I squeaked like a mouse.

"I'm doing alright." he said but I didn't hear it in his voice. Cheshire circled around him.

"Is that… a Wonderland program?" Nexus stepped forward and stared intently at Cheshire.

"That I am, but I am a living program thank you very much and kindly." Cheshire floated above Capper and crossed his arms.

"I never knew the Wonderland programs could evolve in this way. I'm a little shocked and a little pleased." Nexus beamed, the first time I had seen him smile since running into him. "You're pure magic!"

"That I am. But I'm not all there either," he slowly faded out of existence as he twirled through the air upside down. His smile twirled with him going from a grin to a frown and back again before disappearing with him. When next he reappeared he was floating along beside me. Nexus was all smiles for him. "My baby is all grown up!" he was squealing in glee.

"Is there any way you can get him out of my head? His software has downloaded into my brain and I'd love to give him his own body."

"The only way that could be done is if you're a synth yourself and you've intermingled with arcane programming by accident."

"That is all very true." Capper nodded.

"Wait, so you're a synth? Wow! I never would've been able to tell."

"I'm made from the same stuff as Celestia and Luna. We are much more realistic. The magic running through my veins is alicorn in nature."

"Fascinating! I never thought to use alicorn magic, but then again there really aren't any alicorns at my disposal. Your Orange Juice is the first alicorn I've seen since leaving the Stable." Nexus was like a foal in a candy shop. "How did that come about anyway?"

"We took some drugs, Sympathy we call it. It's made from Whistle Reed and Rage, among other things."

"You're kidding!" Nexus stared at me with wide eyes.

"Not in the slightest."

"Who knew Rage had such applications."

I lifted my hoof and an orb of magical energy appeared on it, "You mean like this? I'm the Element of Vigilance now."

"You're telling me this Sympathy, so called, has given you magical abilities? Even though you're not a unicorn?"

"That's right baby!" Capper flicked at his sleeves and a couple sparks of energy snapped off his paws.

"You said your magic is akin to alicorn, does that mean you are also an Element of Harmony and you are just as powerful as Orange Juice? And what about Cheshire? Surely his magic must be in sync with yours?" Nexus was full of questions.

"I had magic before I took Sympathy," said Capper. "All thanks to my alicorn blood and Cheshire's meddling."

"I do not meddle!" Cheshire snapped, then he smiled wide, "Oh perhaps only a little bit. I am also the Element of Promise alongside Capper. Our magicks are intertwined. You could say we need each other."

"Which is not something I'm happy with exactly, seeing as Capper is my tomfriend."

"I've grown accustomed to Cheshire's presence but we both would be a bit more happy if Cheshire had a physical body."

"I can say I'm not exactly mad for it," Cheshire twisted around Capper and kept up his smiling. I don't think I'd ever seen the purple striped cat without his smile.

"We can certainly do that here, if you're willing to give up some of your alicorn blood. It won't adversely affect you but you may feel drowsy for a few hours after the process."

"I am perfectly willing to give some blood, if it means Cheshire will finally be free to roam on his own. Will his abilities remain the same? We will need them in the upcoming fight."

"A fight we hope you will back us on."

"His abilities will remain the same as long as the blood transfusion goes well. Because his program resides in your head you share the same DNA. It will be almost as though you are blood brothers."

"I am happy as a whistling kettle to hear that," said Cheshire.

"I already have one brother, who's to stop us adding another to the family?"

"Then I will get my scientists on crafting a body for Cheshire. Will you please follow Flight Control down to Biotech?" Nexus said and clicked his earpiece. "Flight Control, take Capper to Biotech and have our scientists down there craft a body for Cheshire Cat. Thank you." he clicked off. "Now," he turned to me as Capper left the room. Buck came in after him, OJ on his tail. "What is this fight you mention?"

* * *

Capper Dapperpaws

The Biotech lab was a bit chillier than the rest of the Institute. A shiver went down my spine as the doors sealed behind us. Flight Control led us through a winding passageway to the laboratory waiting for us. I had an ominous feeling, and I almost didn't like it.

"Reminds one of taking a trip through the Tulgey Wood," said Cheshire, paws on my shoulders as though he were hiding from a monster.

"What are you afraid of?"

"I have to admit, I'm a little afraid of being separate from you." Cheshire twisted through the air and came to float in front of me. "I've grown attached to you, Capper Dapperpaws."

"I've grown attached to you too." I smiled at him and his smile returned.

"Separation anxiety of this nature is not to be unexpected," said Flight Control from ahead of us. Cheshire floated away from me and went to swirl by her ear. "How long have you two been together like this?"

She jumped, startled when Cheshire spoke, "We've been together, I'd say, for a few months I think." Cheshire was stroking his chin and staring up toward the ceiling.

"I agree with that," I said.

"We are here," said Flight Control stopping in front of a door. "Inside are a few synthesizing pods, where the Biotech lab has worked on making Cheshire a new body. We need some alicorn blood to wake up Cheshire's sleeping form, so on you go. It's a simple process if you follow instructions."

"Instructions are my middle name!" I replied, but internally I was a bit nervous, though I'd never show it.

Cheshire was in my ear, "I can tell you're worried about something."

"Aren't we all?" I asked as I walked through the doors, Cheshire on my tail.

"Let's take this trip down the rabbit hole together, shall we?" he held out a paw to me and I reached out, intending to grasp it, but I only sifted right through him. He was an apparition, not actually there. It would be strange for him to be apart from me. My heart thumped as the scientists had me lay down in the pod. They attached an IV to me and my magical blood began to fill the bag. When it was done they took the IV out and put in a saline drip instead. Then the pod closed around me.

"Capper, can you hear me?" asked Flight Control.

"Yes, I can hear you."

"Good. In order for our lab technicians to separate the two of you we must run you through the Wonderland program. It's going to feel like falling. We are administering a sedative through your drip. Be ready."

I took a deep breath, feeling my nerves racing in every which direction. Then all around me the pod structure changed from padded to wooden. There was dirt falling from above and a light that was the pod window far far away. I reached up and realized there was nothing beneath me. I was falling, like she had said, but it felt all too real. I didn't know where I was. "Find me in the Duchess' house," I heard Cheshire's voice.

How was I to find him? The room grew dark and I hit the bottom as a leaf would hit the ground. I was surprised there was no pain. I stood and looked around. I was standing on the ceiling, my head upside down. Then I fell again, hitting the floor with a thud. "Oof!" There was a table and a key rested on top of that table. It was simple enough, find the door the key fit. There was a bottle on the table labelled "Drink me," I rolled my eyes.

"How much more obvious can ya get?" I pocketed the key and picked up the bottle. "Here goes nothing." I drank it and my whole body began to shrink. The table grew bigger and bigger while I only fell down down down. My trenchcoat did not shrink with me. I felt naked without it.

"My goodness, put on some clothes!" called a voice. It was a pony, pristine white, like porcelain. He ran through the small door on the right and it slammed shut.

"A wild goose chase then," I smiled. "I'll catch that mouse yet." I ran toward the door, and my journey through Wonderland had only just begun.


	34. Intermission II My Shallow Heart

**Intermission II** My Shallow Heart

(Note, this chapter takes place out of context from the rest of the story. It falls into the timeline sometime within Chapter 32)

Nexus Spark

I couldn't believe Ravager Blitzfire had kissed me. I had loved him for a long time, but I had hated him for what felt like years. I remember the first time I kissed him, when he most likely didn't even remember it happening. Now he was the one kissing me and for some reason, I was completely fine with that. But I saw the way he was with Capper. He already had a…what would you call it for a catlord? Tomfriend. Yeah that. How could he go behind Capper's back like that?

Blitz was a pony full of mistakes, that was for sure, but his number one mistake wasn't even his to bear. I knew I couldn't remain angry at him for something that wasn't his fault. It was something I had learned long ago. Blitz seemed different too, a bit happier. I wondered what he had gone through after all this time. I was a very curious stallion, as a scientist, and I really wanted to have a conversation with him.

Hearts and Hooves Day was fast approaching and I wondered if I could get him alone. I knew it would be wrong of me to try it, but something in me wanted to kiss him again. I knew now that my anger had been born of the love I had for him, not the hate. I couldn't hate Blitzfire, it just wasn't in me. If I was the kind of pony capable of hate, I would've been the kind of pony to kill my stepstallion that day, and I hadn't.

I couldn't get Blitz off my mind and I had to find him. I went out into the halls and clicked my earpiece, "Flight Control, where is Blitzfire now?"

"Why would you like to know?" she came on over the commwave.

"I…can't stop thinking about him. Ever since he and his friends arrived here."

"Not quite what you expected, Maker?"

"No, not quite at all." I paced the halls of the Institute and rounding the corner, I bumped into the orange colored pony. The first alicorn I had seen in the wasteland since I had left Stable 14.

We both fell on our asses and I was the first to get up, "I apologize!" I gasped as I helped the Prince up.

"Don't even worry about it!" he stuck his tongue out at me and smiled. He was kind of cute. "I was going to come ask you, on behalf of Pumpkin Spice, we'd like to throw a Hearts and Hooves, oh what did she call it…" his eyes went crooked as he thought on it and I laughed a little. "…A bash!" his eyes realigned and he looked me straight in the eye, waiting for an answer.

"You want to throw a holiday bash?" I cocked my head. We'd never done something like that here, but maybe it was because the ponies working here were all scientists. We didn't have a party pony on site and apparently now we did.

"What the heck! The Institute of Friendship can withstand one party." I boasted and Orange Juice's smile widened.

"Yay!" he whooped and that made me smile. Even from the wasteland these ponies knew how to be happy. It was something I had struggled with for awhile, my only friends being the department heads, and they could get a little nitpicky. I wasn't sure if any of us were real friends. I trusted in Flight Control, but I don't think she saw me as a friend.

"Have Pumpkin Spice stop by my office later so she and I can discuss details." I told OJ.

"Yessiree!" he nodded.

I stopped him before he could run off, "Oh, by the way, do you know where Blitzfire is?"

"Blitzy? Oh he's in the cafeteria, eating lunch with Capper and Cheshire. I think most of my friends are in the cafeteria actually."

"He's with Capper?" I squeaked.

"Yeah, he usually is." OJ nodded and gave me that silly little grin of his. What could ya do but smile? I was finding it increasingly difficult.

"Thank you, Prince."

"Oh, you can just call me Orange Juice. Just because I have wings and alicorn magic doesn't mean I'm anything more special than anypony else."

"Actually it's what makes you special, but I suppose it's a good way of looking at things." I shrugged and OJ cantered off. He was in a good mood and I wish I could be just like him. He resonated with positive energy. Time to go find Blitz.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

I was eating a hay burger, one of the best things I'd had in a long time. I was pretty glad the Institute had good food in their cafeteria. Capper was across from me and we were talking about Pumpkin Spice's plan to throw a Hearts and Hooves bash. "It's funny how she's always on top of that," Capper said after swallowing some catnip.

"She sure does like her parties." I nodded, chewing my bite of food.

"Who likes whose parties?" Pumpkin Spice popped up out of nowhere in that way she always did. I still jumped, as always startled by her appearance.

"Ears burning?" Capper smiled at her and she stuck her tongue out.

"Oh, they're always burning, I don't mind it at all. Not one single bit."

"Hopefully Nexus approves it though, he can be a bit uptight and I've never had the chance to see him in a position of leadership." I said. "I wonder how he's been doing all this time."

"You sure seem hung up over him," Capper commented.

I gulped, then shrugged it off, "I haven't seen him in a long time and we didn't leave off on a positive note. I'm lucky he didn't shoot me."

"It's gonna be Hearts and Hooves day real soon, it wouldn't be in the spirit to shoot your best friend!" Pumpkin was exasperated, her voice elated.

"That's not…Pumpkin…" I just shook my head at her and smiled as I took another bite of hayburger.

"What's not?" she giggled and skipped off. She disappeared into the depths of the Institute.

"Did any of you see which way Pumpkin Spice went?" OJ came galloping up to us and skidded to a halt. He left smoke trails in his wake, he was moving so fast. "I need to tell her to meet Nexus in his office later, he's going to approve the party plans."

"He will?!" she popped up again and again I jumped.

OJ laughed at her, "Pumpkin Spice! There you are! Yes, I talked to him and he wants you to meet him in his office later." the two of them wandered off.

Nexus had a tray of food in his magical grasp as he sauntered up to the table. He tapped the seat next to Capper, "This seat taken?"

"No." Capper said and slowly got up. "I'm gonna see what Salem's up to." he told me and I nodded carefully.

"What's up?" I asked Nexus, my mind racing. It could be any number of things.

"I just wanted to see how my ex best friend was doing. Hoping to make up for lost time. What have you been up to all this time?"

"I've been treasure hunting." I said cryptically, shoving my tray away as I just finished up.

"That's a vague answer. It seems you found plenty of treasures though, what with all the friends you have."

"They are priceless, aren't they?" I nodded.

"Did you find any interesting treasures?"

"I found a few, but I never held on to any of them for very long. They were all meaningless compared to the true treasure."

He tilted his head, "The treasure of friendship?"

"That too!" I agreed.

"I have to say…even all this time hating you I still missed you a lot. Now that you're here I feel my heart is heavy."

"That's a pretty hefty thing to say considering it's nearly Hearts and Hooves." I told him casually. I didn't forget that I had kissed him in his office the other day. I wondered…would there be another opportunity to kiss him again? Too bad it wasn't Hearthswarming, there wouldn't be any mistletoe to use as an excuse.

"I know it is, but it's the truth. Though I may have held hate for you what I hated even more was the burning feeling in my chest every time my thoughts wandered to you." his eyes were pleading something fierce and I felt a little bad. I had a tomfriend, I couldn't give Nexus my love. I could only hope to give him my friendship.

"I missed you a lot too." I said, and it was true. I couldn't count the number of times my mind had thought of Nexus on my travels. It had taken me too long to finally realize that I wasn't searching for treasure but for what I had lost. Now I didn't care anymore. My friends were all I needed.

Nexus got up and I watched him go. "Oh and Blitz," he stopped and turned, "I hope to catch you at the party."

I nodded, "Me too, me too."

* * *

Orange Juice

New quest

SHALLOW SWEETHEARTS

I was excited to be helping Pumpkin Spice set up another party. I remembered the Hearts and Hooves party I had attended last year, the one Pumpkin had easily set up overnight. She still had that party cannon, though I had no idea how she'd stored it or where it had come from since we were all the way in the Institute of Friendship.

"Oh, I have my ways OJ, I have my ways," she snuck up on me and I giggled at her. She fired the party cannon again and decorations popped up everywhere. A few synths stopped what they were doing and stared on with oohs and awws. There appeared to be a few annoyed scientists as well.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked her.

She handed me a broom, "I don't want anypony tripping on the loose confetti."

"Will do!" I was happy to help. I swept up the confetti each time she fired the cannon and we moved down from hall to hall. Some scientists were happy to see the decorations go up, and helped straighten a few of them when they weren't in the right places. That made everypony smile all around. Soon the whole Institute was decorated in pink and purple and red with hearts and horseshoes hanging from the ceiling. Love and Luck. I cocked my head.

"Now all we do is wait for the true party to begin. I'm going to set up a music stand and make sure everything is connected to Galaxy News Radio. I wonder if I could even put in a few requests if Nexus Spark lets me use his communications terminal." Pumpkin rambled off all her plans and I was content to listen. She was really good at being the Element of Delight, everything she did and everything she said was delightful!

The time for the party soon came and everypony was in the spirit of love. Everypony had found a date and I saw Blitzfire dancing with Capper, the first time I'd seen him relaxed in a long time. I was happy for him. Wonder walked with me to the dance floor and said, "If you were a snack, I'd eat you up, Cutie."

"You know I'm more than a snack!"

"You're the whole damn meal." Wonder winked and I wiggled my booty.

"Blame it on my juice." He giggled as I shook my butt at him and spun around in a circle before I came around and my lips landed on his out of nowhere. He had been waiting in the perfect spot to intercept me and I fell deep into his web. I didn't mind kissing him on the dancefloor, I didn't care if anypony saw us because that's how much I loved him.

"Guess what I found in the store rooms!" Pumpkin Spice was carrying a bowl of heart shaped candies. "They're called sweethearts, and I hope you found yours."

"Ohhh, conversation hearts!" Wonder grabbed a couple and passed me one. It said "Be my special somepony."

I said, "Of course I'll be your special somepony!"

"Oh, you're always my special somepony," Wonder winked.

"Hehe!"

"You two are too cute." Pumpkin laughed.

"OJ's the cute one! I love his hips, curves, lips say the words!"

I giggled, "Come south of the border with me mister," and I grabbed his hoof and led him further onto the dancefloor where we kissed again and started to dance to the music.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"It's a nice party Pumpkin!" I said as Capper and I danced to the music.

"Thank you," she giggled as she held up the bowl of candy hearts.

"No thanks," I shook my head. Capper took a couple and popped them in his mouth.

"Hey Capper," I looked to him and nuzzled up to him, "Can you get me some punch?"

"I was just gonna head that way, these candies are pretty dry." he coughed. I smiled at him and he stuck his tongue out.

I danced my way to the side lines, realizing I was no longer on the dance floor when I bumped into a table. I stopped to catch my breath, sitting down and watching everypony. Pumpkin always threw the best parties, I guess that's why she was called a party pony. I took a deep breath, preparing to go find Capper. That's when Pumpkin's voice came over the speakers, "Couples dance! Couples dance only, all singles please make your way to the side of the dancefloor!" Nexus appeared from the crowd, carrying two cups of punch, almost as though he had known I wanted one.

He set one down next to me on the table and sipped at his own. "Heh, couples' dance. Remember school dances in high school? Neither of us could find a date so we went together as friends?"

"I remember."

"Can I admit something…?" I saw him blushing and wondered what it was.

"When we went to those dances there were a few times I had wanted to kiss you." he was very close to me and I could smell he was wearing lavender cologne, my favorite scent.

I bit my lip, staring into his round green eyes. Something deep was written on them and I stood up slowly. Just then a slow song came on, one I remembered from high school days. Pumpkin must've put in a request for it to play because it wasn't one normally heard on Galaxy News. DJ Pon3 was all about those Hearts and Hooves hits, this night had been perfect. It would be more perfect if I could kiss the one I knew I couldn't. The higher my legs pushed me off my chair the closer my muzzle got to Nexy's. But just before we could kiss I looked away.

"I can't…I really want to…but I can't!" and with that I ran away, shoving past him and running toward the other end of the room. I saw Capper and he reached out to me, about to call my name when he saw I was upset.

He came to find me outside the cafeteria, in the hall where there were a few loitering ponies. They made their way past us when they saw me hyperventilating. "Are you okay, baby?" Capper put his paws on my shoulders.

I shrugged him off and turned to look at him, "There's something wrong with me!"

"There's nothing wrong with you," he told me.

I shook my head, "My heart is torn in two! I shouldn't be this way but…"

"But what?" Capper's voice was smooth and calming but my nerves were acting up and I felt my heart trying to tear its way out of my chest. "Deep breaths, babe."

"I'm in love with him…I've always been in love with him, it just took me over 200 years to realize it."

"You're in love with him…are you in love with me?"

"Deeply, you know that! I don't want to betray you like that…but being around him…it's so hard not to."

"It's a conundrum indeed…I'll have to mull it over. Can you give me time to think while we dance? I'd like to have this dance with you." he smiled and offered a paw.

I took it, "I'd like to have this dance too."

He pulled me to the dance floor and we danced in circles as the slow song played. Capper smiled down at me and I nuzzled into his chest fur. I liked this feeling, safe in the arms of my tomfriend. He made me feel like everything was alright. I could dance like this with him forever, but unfortunately the song had to end sometime. "I just realized I never got us that punch." He let go of me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nexus and he saw me. My heart began to do that thumping thing again and I knew I had to get out of there. I ran back to the hallway to catch my breath.

After what felt like hours but was surely only a few minutes, Nexus joined me in the hall. He stared at a painting that was hung there, underneath was the scientist's name. "Mistress was one of our top researchers a few years back. If she hadn't passed away due to radiation exposure she might have taken my job."

"We've only been in the wasteland for 7 years, I always wondered what you had gotten up to." I looked at him and he glanced away.

"I made my way to the Institute at once. I needed something to occupy my thoughts and research was best for it. It was something I knew existed for the longest time, even before the Incident of Stable 14. I had a few connections left, even if they were the descendents of my old friends there."

"I didn't even know the Institute existed until very recently." I said and finally he looked at me.

"What clued you in?"

"A mare in Double Diamond City selling newspapers saying how evil the Institute is."

"She must see the corrupted synths and connect them back to us. She is very wrong on that front." Nexus had inched his way to me without me knowing and we were shoulder to shoulder.

"Nexus, I love you, you know." I said.

"You're only saying that. You must be terrified of me, and I feel bad for it."

"I deserve whatever's coming to me."

"Then you deserve this," he grabbed my maw and drew me to him, pulling me into a kiss. He whispered against my lips, "I hated you because I loved you, if that makes any sense…"

I kissed him back, lifting a hoof to his cheek and whispering, "It makes perfect sense." I closed my eyes.

"By Faust!" Capper's voice broke the two of us apart. "You couldn't wait!?"

He ran off when I looked toward him and I called, "Capper wait!"

"Go to him…I'm sorry I got you in trouble." Nexus said.

I ran as fast as my hooves could take me.


	35. Chapter 32 I Walk This Empty Street

**Chapter 32** I Walk This Empty Street

Capper Dapperpaws

I walked through a field of flowers, really tall flowers. I was nowhere near as tall as them. That's when a dandelion jumped in front of me and roared. I backed up a few paces, out of the reach of his stem. He could only travel so far. "I know we always ask this, but I am always so curious, but what kind of flower are you?" asked a Rose.

"I am a cattail." I winked at her and she giggled.

"But you have no petals!"

"Then I'm not as perfect a flower as you!" I told her. She swooned and when she straightened again signalled to the other flowers, "Girls, keep the dandelion at bay, Mr. Cattail must be allowed to pass at once!"

"Do you know the way to the Duchess' house?" I asked her.

"Of course! Right this way and make a left. If you hit the Tulgey Wood you have gone too far." the Rose smiled down at me. She must think me the most handsome thing she'd ever seen. I was glad for it, I didn't know what I'd do if I didn't have a clear path.

I came to a row of cottages and I wondered which was who's? I walked up to the first mailbox and it was labelled Indiscreet. The second mailbox was labelled Incognito. The third was named Duchess Finely. I nodded to myself and walked toward her house. A dog opened the door, standing on two feet and barking it's head off. "Since when do dogs stand on two feet?" I asked him.

"Since when do cats stand on two feet?" he asked me right back. "I am a Cu Sith, and what are you?"

"I am a Cait Sith is what. Why is everyone so keen on what I am?"

"Because you must know yourself before you know your fellow." nodded the dog.

"May I pass?"

"I may see fit to chase you off the property, but seeing as though the Duchess expects you for tea and crumpets, who am I to disagree?" he gave a little bow and stepped to the side.

I entered the home and noticed that everything inside was either too big or too small. I saw the kitchen first, where a cricket was cooking something in a pot. He had a pepper grinder in his hands and ground a few rounds of pepper. However, he did not stop there. He just kept going and going and going. I shivered at the amount of pepper in that soup and continued walking on by. I came to a doorway leading into a foyer where a woman with a very large head was sitting rocking a baby.

"I've been expecting you, Capper Dapperpaws. Your name is well known amongst the flowers of the garden."

"All I had to do was tell them I was a cattail."

"And are you? If not, you lie well."

"I'm a con tomcat, what can I say?" I fluffed my lapels and smiled at her.

"We could use a cat like you in court!" she smiled and passed me a plate with a crumpet on it. "Would you like some butter?"

I thought it might be rude to refuse an offer from a Duchess so I nodded and said, "Yes, thank you."

"So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?" she smiled as she sipped her tea and I gingerly dunked my crumpet into my own tea.

"I am looking for someone," I said.

"Not the White Rabbit I hope, pesky little thing."

"No, not him. I am looking for the Cheshire Cat."

"Chessie? Oh, he left awhile ago to have tea with the Poner. If you head straight through the Tulgey Wood and then go right, you should find the Poner's cottage."

"Thank you, and thank you for the tea," I lifted her petite hand to my lips and planted a kiss there.

"Oh, you're so sweet." she crooned.

I left the house on a happy note, but I couldn't help but sneeze as I walked past the kitchen. There was pepper everywhere, "I would go light on the pepper." I advised the cricket.

He shook a fist at me, "Don't tell me what to do!"

I ducked out before a plate he hurled could smash in my face.

* * *

The Tulgey Wood was a dark and mysterious place. I came to a curled branch where I knew if Cheshire was here, he'd be sitting on it. This wasn't my first rodeo through the Wonderland program. Some things were still familiar to me, more so than some others. I took a right as the Duchess had instructed and I indeed came upon the Hatter's cottage. I saw said Hatter sitting at the head of two tables, one rectangular at the far end and one circular closest to me. There was a brown rabbit with one crooked ear and a mouse sitting in a teacup. I had been here before so I knew exactly what to expect. However, there were some small differences I had yet to pick up on.

"Company approaches!" yelled the Poner, a small blue pony.

"For the second time in one day my tea is interrupted!" the mouse snapped.

"I find it quite amusing!" said the hare in a deep nasally tone.

"Well I don't." the mouse was angry.

"Talking mice," I smiled wide and picked up the tea cup.

"Oh please don't do that! I've had enough with cats joking to eat me." the mouse moved backward in her cup.

"Who says I'm joking?" my smile only grew wider and I could barely contain a laugh. To her I must look the most evil thing in the world so I slowly set the cup down.

"I say you're joking!" yelled the Poner.

"He's joking, he's joking!" the hair mimicked.

"What brings you here, I daresay not the tea?" the Poner poured the kettle but nothing came out.

"I'm looking for the Cheshire Cat."

"Oh dear me, oh my!" the Poner set the kettle down so hard it shattered on the spot.

"He was just here!" the mouse called.

"Yes, that he was," the Poner nodded and his hat bounced.

"He just left!" the hare nodded his agreement.

"He made the guard a little angry, as to how you'd have to ask him." said the Poner.

"So he's on the run." I stated. "Did he say where he was going?"

"Only back through the Tulgey Wood! It's an excellent place to hide, if only you don't get turned around." the Poner nodded toward his gate, where the Tulgey Wood lie in wait.

"Thank you!" I called and skipped on back to the Wood.

* * *

"You better be here, mangy cat." I huffed. "I'm sick of this game."

The Cheshire Cat appeared by a swipe of his tail through the air and on his favorite branch he perched. "But tis only a game! A game is it not?"

"The Wonderland program may be just a game, but it doesn't mean you had to play them."

"That I did, though! They had me chasing after you as well, and for some reason the King is yet again angry with me. In fact, I hear their approaching footsteps now."

"You always piss off the royal guard?" I asked as he jumped on down and we ran off through the trees. I could see the Duchess' house from here but it seemed to get further and further away the more we ran toward it. This was like a chase nightmare, where you never neared the end of the hall as the monster chased behind you.

"That I do indeed! How can I lose my head when there's no body to detach it from?" I looked back at the Cheshire Cat and saw that he was in fact only a floating head.

"Oh, don't do that!" I said but I was only messing as I laughed at him and his body reappeared. "So you played this game with the King?"

"Of course I did, I do so love to interrupt his croquet game. The Queen is lovely by the way."

"I see."

"Take my paw, or we shall never again see the light of day again." the Cheshire Cat held out a paw to me and I slowly took it, quite unsure what to expect. I hadn't ever been able to touch him. He was soft, and I shivered at the touch. "Are you quite alright?"

"I am now." I smiled at him. Then I let him drag me forward and boy was the rush amazing! It was like flying but we were still walking on the ground. My feet never left the forest floor but next I knew we were standing outside the three cottages overlooking the flower garden. "How did it get so small?"

"It's called a rush. The question you should be asking is how did we get so big?"

I glanced at the houses, realizing they looked like dollhouses and they were half my height. "What did you do?"

"As we rushed through the Tulgey Wood we accidentally consumed some berries, rather unavoidable, that. Now the only way to escape is to have a Drink me potion and head back through the door."

"Where do we get a Drink me potion?" I asked him.

"Ask the cricket, he is rather good at making them."

"Is pepper an ingredient?"

"Not pepper persay, but he does like to use a lot of it, doesn't he?"

"He really does." I leaned down and tapped lightly on the door. Out came the Cu Sith and I asked as quietly as I could, "Is the cricket home?"

"Yes he is. What do you need?"

"Two Drink me potions please."

"Since you asked so nicely." the dog rolled his eyes and went back inside. Then he came out with some tiny cups of what looked like plain old water.

"Thank you," I nodded and handed one to Cheshire.

"You are very welcome, now please don't disturb us anymore, giant cretin." then he slammed the door.

"Why is he so crabby?"

"He's always crabby, don't mind him," said Cheshire. We walked out to the garden and then threw back our shots of Drink me potions. We began to shrink and found ourselves in front of the flowers once again.

"Oh Cattail, Lavender, how lovely to see you again."

"You're a Lavender?" I nudged him and laughed.

"That I am!" his purple stripes swirled in on themselves before stopping to rest again.

"Ah, I get it."

"You were quite clever to be Cattail." he winked at me. "I hope you still have the key, because I lost mine."

"I do," I nodded and lifted it up. Cheshire put a paw on my shoulder and I turned to him.

"Can I just say it's been an honor being a part of you?" he was smiling that devilishly wide smile.

"I'm glad it has, I have to say I might miss you."

"I'll still be around. They are making me a body, are they not?"

"They are." I noticed our snouts were ever so closer together.

"I care about you a lot," he said.

"Me too." in that moment our lips touched and I found myself drawn into a kiss with him. I heard the Rose swoon and the other flowers go "Awww!"

I broke the kiss at once, my eyes wide, "I…we shouldn't have done that."

"But I wanted to," and Cheshire took my key and turned the lock. "You need to open the door now. It's time to wake up."

I gulped and turned from him, trying not to think on our kiss. He grabbed my paw. Then I opened it and white light poured out. I was blinded for a split second…

* * *

When next I opened my eyes and my eyes adjusted to the light I realized I was back in the Institute. I tried to sit up but a doctor pushed me back down, "Don't, you're going to be a bit weak."

"I feel so tired!"

"We took almost 1 pint of blood from you. You need to relax until you feel ready to rise. Here, eat this, it'll help you regain your strength."

I nibbled on it and asked, "How's Cheshire doing?"

"You've brought him into the back door program we created so we coul download him into the body we have prepared. It'll take several hours." said the white coat.

Another scientist came up to me with a clipboard in one hoof, "You've been out for several days. You need to recuperate before we can allow you to get up. We are administering some drugs through the drip to help you feel better. You'll be on your feet in no time." he smiled at me.

"That's good! A cat always lands on his feet."

"He really does," the doctor nodded and messed with the drip a little and then I fell asleep.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

On the Eve of Hearts and Hooves Day I wondered about Capper. I was pacing the bedroom that had been given to me. It had been 3 days since he'd entered the Wonderland program to separate Cheshire from his mind. I had to admit, I was a little glad Cheshire would be getting his own body. I liked Capper being just Capper.

I hit the intercom and Flight Control answered, "Yes, what is it this time?"

"How's Capper doing?"

"Actually I was just notified, he is awake. Would you like to visit him?"

"Yes!"

"I'll send an escort then."

"I don't need an escort." I told her.

"Can you get to the Biotech without a guide?"

I thought about it and realized I didn't even really know where any of their departments were. So begrudgingly I said, "No."

When I arrived at the Biotech the escort left me to it. I entered cautiously, the big door sliding open and I entered. A bunch of scientists ran back and forth, and the chatter in the room was high. I saw a few pods all in rows and I was reminded of Stable 14. A chill went down my spine. Two of the pods were occupied but only one was open. I went to the one that was open, seeing Capper laying there.

"Hey Cap," I smiled at him.

"Hey Blitzy," he stuck his tongue out at me.

A doctor came then and said, "He's coming off a sedative, so he may be a little, ya know…" he made a circular motion near the side of his head.

"Wonky?"

The doctor nodded and trotted off. "I'm not wonky!" Capper giggled at me.

"Hey, guess what?"

"What's that?" he stared me in the eyes for a brief second before his gaze wandered off.

"You're awake just in time for Pumpkin Spice's Hearts and Hooves Day celebration."

"Oh cookie!"

I laughed at him, "What?"

"I said hurray!" Capper stuck his tongue out at me.

I grabbed a scientist and asked, "How long till he comes down from this?"

"Oh, probably a couple hours. We can send someone to you if you'd like."

"Sure." with that I left the Biotech lab.

* * *

Capper was up on his feet the next day but Cheshire was still being downloaded into his new body. The process took awhile, especially since unchecked alicorn magic could be so volatile, they had to take their time about it. That was okay because it meant I would get to dance with Capper without having to worry about Cheshire.

I was so worried about Cheshire but then I went and made the same exact mistake I was worried Capper would make. I kissed somepony else. On Hearts and Hooves day no less. I understood why Capper was pissed. I chased him down and he shrugged my off when I lifted a hoof to touch him. "I'm sorry." I said. "I know that doesn't mean much, but I really am sorry."

"Sorry for what? For kissing another pony and not me? On Hearts and Hooves Day of all days?" He wouldn't even bother to look at me.

"Yes, sorry for all of that. Sorry my heart is torn between you and Nexus. I still don't even get all these feelings, and when he goes to kiss me, I don't want to reject him, and I'm sorry for that too."

"Cheshire kissed me." Capper said.

"Wait what?"

"In the Wonderland program. I kissed him back, too."

I took a step back. "So wait, you're mad at me for kissing Nexus and you went and did the same thing?"

"I won't apologize and honestly neither should you. Maybe Nexus is a better fit for you and Cheshire is a better fit for me."

"Now wait just a minute, I didn't say all that!" my heart was breaking at his words. I didn't want to hear it. I still loved him.

"You might as well though, right?"

"No! I still love you Capper. You're breaking my heart."

"And you're breaking mine. Maybe we should take a break, huh?"

"Are you breaking up with me?"

"No! Ravager Blitzfire," he finally turned to me, "I love you more than anything you could know. I just feel hurt." he was crying and I wanted to reach out and dry those tears. "I see you care about Nexus. That's fine. I'm not angry anymore but I am hurt. But it doesn't matter because your heart isn't the only one that's torn. I love Cheshire too!"

"Then maybe that's okay…" my voice trailed off, not quite believing my own words. I had never been too fond of Cheshire for this exact reason.

"You don't believe it though, do you?"

"I'm trying too…relationships are complicated, and I've never been too good at them."

"You were doing just fine before Nexus came along," Capper crossed his arms and I chewed on my lip.

"I could say the same about you and Cheshire."

"That's why I think a break is necessary. We're not breaking up, don't think of it like that. No, we're just exploring our options."

"I understand." My heart felt heavy, like it was sinking in my chest. I didn't like this feeling but I supposed it had to be this way. I wandered off, feeling lost without my anchor. Capper had been my rock for so long. Why did I keep messing things up?

The party was over and everypony was retiring for the night. I was tired, tired of everything and sick of it all. I went to my room and wished I could slam the door but they slid merrily shut. I scoffed and kicked out at nothing. The Institute was too pristine for my liking.

I was just climbing into bed when there came a knock at my door. I pressed the button to open it up and found myself face to face with Nexus. He was holding a bottle of wine in his neon green magic. "I felt you could use a pick me up after that fight with Capper."

"How do you know of my fight with Capper?"

"Well you were in a public space. I um…sorta eavesdropped. Are you okay?"

"I could be better." I took the bottle of wine from him and popped the cork, chugging a bit of it. Then I gave it back to Nexus who had some wine glasses in his magical grasp that I hadn't noticed.

"You really could, couldn't you?" the door slid shut and Nexus was laughing at me. I had chugged half the bottle in one go. He poured himself a glass and set the bottle down on the dresser alongside the cup he'd brought for me. I was tempted to grab the bottle and chug the rest but then I started to feel the buzz and knew I didn't need anymore. That didn't stop me from pouring another glass and getting a look from Nexus as I sipped at it.

"You good there?" he asked me.

"No, I definitely am not. Capper wants to "take a break," whatever that's supposed to mean." I mumbled and Nexus shook his head.

"Same old Blitz, when you get drunk you get angry."

"I do not get angy!" I said, slurring my words. "I am in fact a very happy pony."

"I hope you are," Nexus smiled at me and our glasses clinked together. I tipped back the rest of mine and then hiccuped.

"What are you doing here, Nexy?" I asked him.

"I wanted to come and toast to a happy Hearts and Hooves Day. It is a happy one, isn't it?"

I hiccuped and said, "It is now that you're here…with alcyhol."

"Silly Blitz." Nexus laughed and drank the rest of his. He went to pour himself another glass and found that I had finished off the bottle.

I leaned toward him and I kissed him. "I care a lot about you Nexus." I murmured against his lips. He kissed me back.

"I think I do too." he pulled away and looked into his empty glass, "It's just really hard after feeling anger and resentment toward you for 7 years."

"I tried to avoid thinking about you for 7 years, filling my time with menial treasure hunting." I hiccuped again and smiled at him.

"I'm sure it wasn't menial if you were doing it. When you set your mind to something, you're really good at it."

"I am?" I looked up toward the ceiling.

"You always were, why do you think they made you Overseer?"

"I am Overseer, aren't I! And you're the Maker!" I tapped him on the chest.

"I have done pretty well for myself."

I touched him and drew him into another kiss. I whispered, "How did I get this far? Just tell me who you are and why you're here."

"You're everywhere to me," Nexus closed his eyes and I rubbed my hooves along his back. He fell on top of me in the bed and I stared into his beautiful emerald eyes. His mane fell over me and our noses booped. "Is this okay, Blitzy?"

"I think so," I stared at him, taking him all in before we continued to lock lips. Our tongues danced with each other while our hooves explored the other. I felt his flank and then back up his spine, feeling the soft fur. I wanted all of him and I was too drunk to care about the consequences. I drew him in and we went all the way that night. Something I never in my wildest dreams thought would ever happen. If you'd have told me 7 years ago I'd be having sex with my ex best friend, I probably would've rolled my eyes and shot you.

"I'm glad we're here," Nexus mumbled.

I was glad too.


	36. Chapter 33 Everything Breaks

**Chapter 33** Everything Breaks

When I woke up with Nexus in my bed cuddling me, I jolted. I felt like I had made a mistake, but I didn't feel any regret. It was a strange feeling. I wished it was Capper holding me, but I was also glad it was Nexus. Something had to be wrong with me. I glanced over at Nexus and tried not to wake him up. I was scared I had when he started to move but he only rolled over to face the wall. I went to put on my vest when there was a chime from the door intercom.

I was hopping on three legs as I pulled my vest over my head and said, "Yes, who is it?"

"It's me, Capper," came Capper's voice. "I thought about it some, and decided I'm not upset about it as much as I was yesterday." I looked over to Nexus lying in the bed and my heart skipped a beat. I couldn't open the door or I knew Capper would never get over it.

"Okay, I'm…in the middle of something, can we talk about it later?"

"Why not talk about it now?" Capper asked and it was a valid point.

"Shit…" I let go of the intercom button and wondered if Nexus could fit under the bed. I had to come up with some excuse to get Capper to go away. "I just woke up, I'd like a moment to myself."

"Right, right." Capper said and the intercom went silent.

I poked at Nexus and he moaned. How could I forget, he wasn't a morning pony. This was going to be complicated. I went to open the door when the com buzzed again, "I've seen you naked, not sure what the problem is."

"I got really drunk last night, I'm kind of hungover!" I actually wasn't, surprisingly but why wouldn't he just leave?

"Okay! I'm heading to the cafeteria to get breakfast."

I hoped he really was gone, because I had to open the door if I wanted to leave. I pressed the button and thankfully Capper was already gone. I hoped Nexus would get up soon, I didn't want anypony to see him leave my room. I decided to go find Capper, whatever he had to say would be pretty crucial to whatever came next in our relationship. I still really cared about him. I wondered if he'd ever considered polyamory…Probably shouldn't bring up that idea in the conversation, at least not just yet. I'd table it.

"Boing, boing, boing," came Pumpkin Spice's voice behind me. "Oh, hey Blitz! You know, I wish we didn't have to take all the decorations down so soon, but Flight Control wants me to. By the by, have you seen Nexus? Buck and Ashe Erza are looking for him."

My voice cracked, "Nope!"

"Why do I get the feeling that nope is a yep?" she eyed me as we walked and I shrugged at her.

"I don't know, why do you?"

"Hey, I'm not making a joke mister, I can be serious sometimes!"

"I wasn't saying you were making a joke." I pursed my lips.

"You weren't? Oh well! I guess I'll just have to find Nexus on my own. See ya later!"

I turned the corner as she hopped away and I was at the doors to the cafeteria. They were open and I could see Capper a ways off, seated at the table and eating with Salem and Combat. I wondered if now would even be a good time to talk but it was all up to Capper. I approached his table and said, "Hey, Cap."

"Hey Blitz," he nodded to me and Combat got up to leave.

"I don't wanna be here if it's going to get awkward." he said.

"It's only awkward if you make it awkward, but I feel you." Capper nodded to him and he and Salem left.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked him.

"I think I can still be your tomfriend and accept that you have a place in your heart for Nexus, if you can accept I have a place in my heart for Cheshire." Capper just laid it all down, not skipping a beat.

"I am actually kind of glad you say that. I was afraid you would be against the idea, so I wasn't gonna bring it up, but I was wondering how you'd feel about a polyamourous relationship. Sounds like there aren't many qualms?"

"There are a few, but we'll all just have to work it out. I can't ask Cheshire just yet because he hasn't been fully downloaded into his new body, so he's not awake yet. I'm guessing you still need to talk to Nexus about how he feels too?"

"That's right." I nodded.

"So it's settled then?"

"I hope so. I still really care about you Capper."

"I care about you too, baby, that's why I hope this can all work out."

"Me too."

* * *

When Nexus finally woke up we all met in a round conference room. He had a cup of coffee in his magical grasp and there were some cups of coffee sitting on the table. We all had our own morning routines. I didn't need any coffee but it didn't hurt so I still had a cup.

"So I take it you all didn't come to the Institute for nothing. What brings you?" Nexus asked us.

"We were hoping you'd be able to help us in our mission to save Broncston from anarchy like we did in Bittsberg." said Ashe Erza.

"How can I help with that."

"For one thing, it would be nice to know how to change synths corrupted by the ashlings back to our side," said Buck.

Nexus narrowed his eyes in confusion, "What do you mean they're corrupted?"

"He means that the ashlings have used some sort of evil magic on them to force them to do their bidding. They no longer operate under normal parameters." I said, hoping I could explain it in a way Nexus could understand.

"Wait, let me get this straight. The synths base programming changes?" Nexus stared straight at me.

"That is right!" Ashe Erza said. "Is there any way to reset them to factory settings so to speak?"

"It should be simple, I'd just have to make a device that reboots the more basic models, but for models like the Leaders or Courser Magistrates…that would take some pretty heavy magic that I don't currently have." Nexus was pacing now, pacing as he thought. It always helped him come up with a solution. "If we reset their memories…but that would require a good understanding of memory sphere technology…probably a batch of clean memory spheres…" he looked up from his ramblings and stopped pacing. "I have a solution but it's going to take some time. Can you guys help me with one thing?"

"What is it?" asked Buck.

"I need unused memory spheres in order to do what I think can be done…there's a factory that produces them in the Back Bray."

"Then we will get what you seek, anything that can help."

Everypony began to file out of the room, now that it was agreed upon what we were going to do next. But I still had one thing to talk to Nexus about. I stopped him before he left, "I have something to talk to you about, in private."

"No problem!" he hung back and we waited till everyone was out of the room and the door was closed.

"Nexus, I can't leave Capper." I laid it out plain and simple.

"You mean, in regards to what happened between us?"

"Yes…but here's the thing. I care deeply about you too, I always have just never realized it until I came face to face with you again after so long."

"So what are you saying?" I could tell Nexus was confused.

"If you can be okay with it, Capper has agreed to try a polyamorous relationship. He'll let me date you at the same time as long as he's allowed to date Cheshire, which I've agreed to." I gulped, "What do you think?"

"I think…that should be fine. I obviously don't want to come between you and Capper. I'm also trying to navigate my feelings. I still have a strong anger towards you that I'm trying to sate."

"Okay, as long as you know where I stand."

"I do." he opened the door and I pecked him on the lips, smiling at him, "I hope things can work."

"Isn't that what we all hope?" he chuckled before walking away.

* * *

"I've calibrated the teleporter to accept you guys coming from any Minute Hoof settlement. As soon as you get to a settlement you just have to make a few changes to the gate spells and you'll be all set." Nexus told us. We were in the teleporter room and he was setting it up to make sure that nopony that he didn't want coming through the teleporter would be able to. Only me, OJ and our large group of friends could use it now, besides the Courser Magistrates of course.

"I am curious," OJ said, "Why do you send Courser Magistrates and no other synths?"

"They're not the only synths we send out, they're just the ones we send out the most," Nexus said. "I do so because I want to test their functionality out in the wasteland. They're supposed to be my little army, to protect and serve ponykind, but it seems everything went awry the more complicated they became."

"I don't think they follow Institute order anymore," said Ashe Erza. "They go by their own rules now."

"Well it still seems they have a hierarchy structure put in place, which is one rule I know I programmed in."

"It's strange that you made a real pony into a Magistrate." said OJ.

"Actually, those are the only ponies that can be made into Magistrates. Their magic is so complicated it requires the true essence of an actually pony to create it. They're one step below an alicorn synthetic."

"I still can't believe alicorns are synths." said Capper, "Even after all this time being awake myself."

"Are you guys all set?" asked Nexus, making some last minute adjustments to the computer.

"More set than you can imagine!" Pumpkin Spice was bouncing up and down in place.

"What she said," Combat stated.

"Good, then I'll see you guys real soon?"

"Of course," Ashe Erza inclined her head before we all stepped through the teleporter and out into Sanctuary. The only pony who didn't come with us was Riggs, he wanted to stay with his son.

Press was first to greet us, "Pone, y'all been gone for a little while. Did you make it to the Institute?"

"Yes we did," I said.

"What's it like?" asked Press.

"It was somethin' alright!" Pumpkin bounced on by.

"It was really really fancy," OJ said.

I said, "It was shiny, if anything."

"Sounds like you guys had a time." Press backed up as we all came through the fast travel gate.

"Oh, we most certainly did," Ashe Erza correlated.

"Anything new on the agenda?"

"What can you tell us of the memory sphere factory?" Buck asked and I followed them to the greenhouse. Time to formulate a new plan.

"I can tell you the Back Bray is crawling with ashlings and darklings. It won't be easy getting in once you're there," said Press.

"I'm sure nothing in the wasteland is easy," Ashe intoned.

"That's very true." Press said and he looked over the map on the makeshift warroom's table. "Here's Good Neigh-Boar, if you go just north of that you'll hit the factory you're looking for." He showed us on the map, pointing it out with his hoof.

"Simple enough." Ashe Erza nodded.

"I hope you guys know what you're doing." Press was worried for us.

"We know exactly what we're doing," Cherry said firmly.

It was time to get a move on, and we all stepped through the fast travel gate for Good Neigh-Boar. Whoever was setting up these gates had been busy. It was a good thing, and we were all glad to see the Minute Hooves maintaining control over Broncston. It was too bad we hadn't yet stopped the ashlings. I wondered where Circle of Ash and Ritual of the Moon were now. I suppose there would be time to think on that later.

We promptly left Good Neigh-Boar and made our way north for the memory sphere factory. It loomed over us when we approached and I could see beyond the walls were darklings, ashlings and Circle of Ash synthetics waiting for us. The fence crackled with electricity so this place must run on its own generator.

"We all need to be careful here," said Ashe Erza, "I don't want anypony getting hurt."

"None of us want that," said Buck.

"We'll be fine!" OJ yipped.

We went in guns blazing, it was Combat's idea. Sometimes the quickest way inside was to just push head on. I agreed with that. I aimed my revolver at the first ashling I saw and blew his brains out. Next came a couple synthetics. They had their weird Institute energy weapons. I threw up a magical barrier just in time but I was still pushed back. I bumped into a car and growled as I enhanced my bullets magically and fired on the two synths pushing me back.

"Get the buck away from me!" I yelled. They went down in a spray of crackling electricity. These must've been floor models because that had been easy.

Then the darklings that waited for us in front of the doors. We used our collective magical energies and a beam of light shot from all of us. The darklings were toast. "There's nothing we can't do if we work together!" yelled the Colonel.

"Keep pushing!" yelled Buck as more darklings appeared, swirling up in front of us and trying to absorb our magic. At first it looked like they would succeed, but then they all began to go up in smoke, swirling energy that was lost to the void. They were gone and the doors were busted down.

"Good work everypony!" called the Colonel and we followed her and the Guardian inside.

"According to my map the main supply of unused memory spheres would be kept behind the factory floors, in a storage locker." I said, scrolling through my EFS maps. I blinked and it went away.

"We'll split up and grab as much as we can then meet back in the parking lot." said Buck. "OJ, Wonder, Pumpkin Spice, with me."

"Combat, Cherry, Salem, this way," Ashe Erza motioned for them.

Felia Heart and Joyride followed me, Capper and Cheshire. Cheshire floated through the air in front of us, taking point. Capper and I walked side by side, he held a pistol in his grip, pointed up as we walked through the dark halls. I had practiced using levitation magic and held the revolver in my magical grip.

We came to a hallway that had been devastated by carnage and it made me wonder what had happened here. Then we came across the bodies, raiders who had been slain by the Circle of Ash in order to claim this place. I wondered what they wanted with memory orbs then I though, if we could use them to uncorrupt a synth then it was entirely possible the Circle of Ash was using them to corrupt their synths. It would certainly be easier than convincing a good pony to use evil magic like the moonstone. I did have to wonder how Priscilla came to use the moonstone and hoped she could be saved.

We came to the factory floor and I held up a hoof to indicate we should all halt. Cheshire circled back and perched on Capper's shoulder. It was interesting that he still had the same powers, even though he now had his own physical body. Just how life essence worked I supposed.

There were two ashlings ahead of us and they were speaking in hushed tones. I couldn't hear what they were saying. They both held a staff in their magical grips and they were getting closer and closer to each other, performing some sort of ritual. "Hey!" I shouted, interrupting them. They turned to us.

"Oh dear, looks like we've got some wayward ponies." said one, a mare.

"And a couple of kitty cats." said the other, a stallion.

"Big mistake!" called the mare and pointed her staff directly at us.

"Time to shatter their world. Fulminating Darkness!" the staffs touched and an orb of pure dark energy began to form.

I heard Joy yell behind me, "Exceeded form!" and saw Felia floating in her magic drift out to the factory floor. Joy formed white orbs of magic in his fists, floating in front of us ready to battle. That's when something that looked like a dragon formed in the middle of the room, made of pure dark magic.

"Shit," I said.

"We can do this," said Capper.

"Good optimism," I nodded to him. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Then we were at it. The Cheshire cat used his magic to enhance both Capper and I and we sent waves of mana at the dark dragon. It roared and the magic was sent back at us. "Okay," yelled Capper as we dodged it, flying in two opposite directions, "Maybe it's immune to magic."

"Let's see how it likes guns," I lifted my revolver and shot at the dragon.

"We may yet need a vorpal sword to defeat this jabberwocky," said Cheshire.

Joy yelled down to us, "Hey! It's emanating from the staffs! We need to separate them!"

"That'll be a task," I said as I saw the two ashlings guarding the staffs. "Capper, you and Cheshire distract the ashlings, I'll keep the dragon off of Joy and Joy," I looked up at him and he looked back at me, "get those staffs!"

I kept the dragon busy while the others went off on their ways. I knew my magic was ineffective but at least I'd keep him busy while Capper and Cheshire attacked the ashlings and Joy went for the staffs. The dragon breathed my magic back at me, and I just narrowly avoided being bombarded with a megatude of fire spells. By Faust! I went into a roll and was on the opposite side of the factory floor. I was near a conveyor belt and I hopped on top. The dragon chased me down.

I ran down the way and the dragon chased me onto the belt. Then I activated it, putting it in reverse and waiting until the very last second to jump off. The dragon was sucked into the belt and it screeched in pain. It spun round and round the belt loop until it was finally spit out and he crashed into the wall. I whooped, just having beat the dragon's ass. It looked like it wasn't getting up and Joy grabbed one staff and hurled it across the room. The dragon slowly faded into nothing. Then the five of us cornered the two powerless ashlings.

"We surrender!" yelled the mare, backing away.

"I give up!" the stallion was visibly sweating. The two of them ran for it.

"Time to get those memory orbs." I called to the group and we went toward the storage lockers. The door was unlocked thankfully. Ashe Erza and her group were inside.

"Why hello slow pokes," she said, pausing in her task of shovelling a bunch of orbs into a saddle bag.

"Slow pokes? We just slayed a dragon and sent two ashlings packing!" Joy was exasperated.

"I only kid. We just got done defeating an ashling ourselves." Ashe Erza nodded towards her group.

"Tell me about it." I rolled my eyes.

"Okay! I shall!"

"Oh no I didn't mean—!"

* * *

Ashe Erza

 _Present Time, 20 minutes ago._

We split off from the main group, heading straight ahead. We came to a section of offices where we could hear somepony talking. We stopped, and waited. "Chamberlin, please shut up about the Magistrate!" came a high pitched stallion's voice. "I know you accomplished a great feat in forcing her hand, but I just don't care to hear it one more time."

"One more thime you sssay?" lisped another stallion.

"No! Oh Faust shut up."

"Don't thell me to shuth up, Media."

"How about both of you shut up!" I yelled as my group ambushed them. I had a spear in my hooves, pointed right at the one called Media. Media had snakes for a mane instead of a normal mane and the snakes all hissed at me.

"Oh Faust, now this!" Media rolled his eyes and ducked, and when he came back up he grabbed my spear and did a side roll, yanking it from my hooves. Then the spear was pointed at me.

"How dare you!" I yelled, and requipping, the spear disappeared, replaced by two short swords with curved blades. I also had on warrior's garb instead of armor. "Don't fool with me!"

"I call upon ancient spirits, darklings rise!" Chamberlin was floating in the air and his eyes were glowing white. The room filled with a terrible hissing sound.

"Snakes!" Cherry yelled and jumped back.

"The fucking darklings are snakes!" Combat snapped and stomped on one. It disappeared in a cloud of pitch black smoke.

Salem was hissing and his eyes were glowing orange with fire magic. He had fists raised and he called, "Don't cross a black cat, it's bad luck you know." then he tossed the fireballs and a few snakes were burned up.

"How could you!" Media snapped, his snakes all baring their fangs. "They aren't just any snakes. Chamberlin, now!" he looked up to the floating pony.

"I call on the Basilisk!" that's when the snakes began to writh and form into each other, connecting and forming through the shadows in the room. It didn't help that Salem had flickering flames on his paws. The snakes formed up and now were one giant snake.

"For crying out loud!" Cherry jumped back.

"What? Afraid of snakes?" I asked and requipped once again. I was now holding a lance and wearing green leaf shaped metal plating skirts and leopard print colored armor. My Jungle Princess Gear.

"Maybe just a little."

"Not to worry," I lunged forward and jabbed the spear deep in the heart of the giant snake. It squirmed under my point but it did not die.

"Somepony get that floating guy!" Salem called, tossing some fireballs at Chamberlin. However, Media raised a hoof and a magical shield appeared to protect Chamberlin. "I stand corrected, somepony get the snake maned guy."

"You stand in the way of me and my memory spheres. I will not have this!" I requipped again and this time I was a ninja, throwing magically enhanced ninja stars and throwing daggers at my disposal. The shield was ripped to shreds and Media was pushed back. Salem held the Basilisk at bay while I barraged Media and Chamberlin. The Basilisk slowly dropped into piles of many snakes again and they were much easier to take care of. Media and Chamberlin each rose a hoof in surrender, a white flag appearing in Chamberlin's hoof, he waved it.

"Good! Then we understand each other. Go! Before I kill you both!" they ran off.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

 _Present Time_

"Sounds like you guys had it covered."

"That we did," Ashe Erza was beaming, proud of herself.

We were done with our task of collecting memory orbs, and we met the Guardian and his group back at the front doors.

"How fares you?" asked Erza.

"We had to deal with a few darklings, but nothing too big. We found a room with some interesting stuff written on one of the terminals, we assume by raiders who once owned this building before the ashlings. Then we found a second storage locker with many unused memory spheres so all in all, everything went well." Buck informed us.

"That is good. I killed a snake today." Erza said proudly.

"That's…good." Buck chuckled lightly.

"I kinda wanna listen to DJ Pon3 on our way back to Good Neigh-Boar!" OJ said as we walked out the door.

"Go ahead," said Buck with a smile.

"Yay!" OJ turned on his Pip-Buck radio. DJ Pon3 triumphantly blasted and we were all happy.


	37. Chapter 34 Border Line of the Edge

**Chapter 34** Border Line of the Edge

"I've calibrated the memory spheres to retract memory from synthetics instead of giving it." Nexus was explaining to us. "It'll then pick through all the evil memories and delete them. Your Courser Magistrate will wake up to memories of herself before she was ever evil after her good memories are returned to her through the orb. It'll work like a grenade on the lesser models, but a Magistrate must willingly hold it and activate it."

"Can you make one of them orange?" asked OJ. "I think I can convince her to use one if she thinks it's a real memory."

"I can make one orange, just hold it here," he held it out to Orange Juice but he shrank back.

"Is it safe to touch?" asked Buck.

"Are you evil?" asked Nexus with a knowing smile on his face.

"I suppose not. Go ahead OJ," he said.

"Okay!" OJ nodded and gingerly he took the orb.

"Now think of a memory. It can still hold memories. Let it do so."

"Oh! I know the perfect one."

* * *

" _Remember, OJ, you can never tell anyone what we are doing here today."_

 _I was following the pink mare, Prissy she had told me her name was. It was only my second time being queued and it was my second time with her. We hadn't done any of the silly things they'd taught us in the nursery. Prissy was more practical than that. She liked to have company, and she took solace in the company of stallions. Whatever that meant. She liked to talk and I liked to listen, but I didn't know what half the stuff she said meant._

" _My sister would be pissed if she found out," Prissy was saying._

" _Who's your sister?" I asked her._

" _You really don't want to know." she shook her head._

" _Oh tell me tell me!" I was jumping up and down._

" _Enough UP," she said. "You'll get us both in trouble." but she was laughing. Why was she laughing if she was worried we would get in trouble?_

 _The doors to the room she'd brought us to opened. Inside were a few buffet tables with white cloths on them. I saw food galore in here and my eyes nearly jumped out of my head. My mouth was surely watering and I licked my lips. Prissy said, "Go ahead and find a few things to eat, it's my special treat to you."_

" _What did I do to deserve this?"_

" _You shouldn't have to deserve it, UP." she said. Then she sucked in a deep breath, "Unfortunately this is the way…Every so often I come across a stallion who's special like you."_

" _I'm special?" I said around a bite of cake, my words skewed by the crumbs. I smiled at her with cake in my mouth. It was the best thing I had ever tasted and I couldn't ever get enough._

 _Prissy smiled and made a laughing noise deep in her throat, "Heh, yes UP, I think you're special. Does that come as a surprise?"_

 _I swallowed my cake and licked the frosting from my lips. "I think…a little bit!" I nodded vigorously._

" _You are very silly UP, and that's what I like about you."_

" _You like that I'm silly? But any other mare would be disappointed." I looked down at my hooves and frowned._

" _I'm not disappointed in you! Don't you ever think otherwise," she put a hoof under my chin._

 _I popped another bite of cake in my mouth and smiled, "Okay!"_

 _Priscilla was the reason why my existence in the Stable wasn't the worst thing ever. She made sure only very specific mares were allowed to queue me, something I didn't find out until much later. She was like my protector, my guardian angel. I was lucky to have her. The Stable was lucky to have her. Thank you Prissy…_

* * *

Orange Juice

Prissy dropped the sphere and I caught it in my hoof. We had come to Clydesdale Valley to see her and I had convinced her to watch the memory. Now she was blinking in surprise and staring at me. "OJ…I'm so sorry for everything I've done!"

"Wait, Nexus said you wouldn't remember being evil." said Cherry. "Can we trust her if she remembers?" he was looking around at all of us.

"I remember my deeds only because OJ gave me one good memory in the midst of it all. I assure you, I won't be evil unless that moonstone is near. It isn't, is it?"

Blitz walked up, "Sounds like you have an addiction. I know just the pony to talk to about that!"

"The moonstone is nowhere near here," said Ashe Erza, "We have ensured you will never see it again."

"That is good." Priscilla was nodding her head. She seemed very relieved. "What magic was that that saved me from myself?"

"We got these memory spheres straight from the Institute." barked OJ.

"The Institute…" Prissy looked down at the ground. "The Institute! Oh, I have to get back to the Institute!"

"Why's that?" Cherry snapped, still paranoid.

I nudged him a little, sticking out my tongue, "Leave her alone, she's not evil anymore." I stared between the two and said, "Right Prissy?"

"I ran into Circle of Ash and Ritual of the Moon, they're who made me evil. They're planning an attack on Double Diamond City!"

"How do you know this?" Buck asked, shoving past Cherry to get to the front. He looked very concerned.

"They know the only way to defeat them is to merge with their better halves. They are pre-synths, they really shouldn't exist. But if they manage to kill Double Diamond and Party Favor, they will be alicorn synths, no longer mortal and very hard to kill. We'll be fucked if I'm putting it quite bluntly." Prissy put her hooves on the bars. "I was to be the one leading the assault, that's how I know. But they'll have known by now that I'm compromised. There's no way of knowing how soon the attack is to happen!"

"That is foreboding," Ashe was stroking her chin.

Blitz stomped a hoof and it clacked on the concrete, "I know who we should go see. Does anypony have any chems? I know it sounds weird but…"

"I have some chems I picked up in the factory!" Pumpkin cheered. She held out a few drugs to show us. It was quite a bit.

"Pumpkin Spice!" Buck had a condescending tone.

"Whattt? I couldn't help myself." she was giggling.

"Those are highly addictive and dangerous," said Buck. "What do you need them for, Blitz?" he looked over to Blitz.

Blitz grabbed a few of the drugs Pumpkin was carrying. "I want to take Priscilla to see Mama Madmare. I'm sure she could see when this battle is to take place."

"I don't know if that's quite a good idea!" laughed Combat. "She's off her rocker when it comes to chems!"

"And you would know," said Blitz.

Combat only continued to laugh, "That I would!"

"I'll go, if it means saving Broncston. But after I must speak with the Maker. Only he would know how to merge pre-synths with their truest selves. I will come bearing that knowledge after."

"Sounds good!" I yipped and tapping my horn to the bars, I unlocked her cage.

* * *

Ravager Blitzfire

"Ah, so you've come at last!" Mama Madmare was smiling at us, rocking back and forth in her rocking chair. She set down her knitting when we approached.

"You knew we were coming?" I asked.

"I know a lot of things, colt." she chuckled. "Did you bring chems? I'm thinking to ride the Sight today, we need a dose of Dash."

"I have some," I nodded to her and searched through my saddle bags. I saw Press Pierce shaking his head from across the way at the Community Center, but I just had to ignore him. I knew he didn't approve of Mama's drug addiction, but she had never led us wrong before.

"I can see…something…my Sight is dark…it is something evil and it is coming fast!" her eyes rolled back and she looked up toward the sky. "Yes I see more clearly now…the one you call Circle of Ash and the Ritual of the Moon will perform the dark rite during the witching hour tonight! They are already preparing to take the city and will be there within the hour! You must go! GO! AND DEFEND DOUBLE DIAMOND AND PARTY FAVOR!" she was screaming now and waving her hooves all about. Pumpkin Spice had a big ol' smile and was mimicking Mama. It was kind of funny but I didn't know if it was right to laugh. "If either DD or Party Favor die, regardless of whether the other lives or not, the ritual will be complete. You must protect them with your lives or Broncston will fall to chaos and anarchy forever." Mama's eyes returned to normal and she looked at us. She took a deep breath, "I mean, they'd prefer to kill both of them but one is enough." she gave a curt shrug. Then she picked up her knitting needles.

"Prissy was right!" OJ gasped.

"Yeah she was and boy oh boy is it a doozy," Pumpkin Spice's head was spinning round on a cork screw neck then unspun back to normal. Her eyes were wobbling all about in her dizziness. She was a cooky one. "Don't call me cooky!" she stuck her tongue out at me. I rolled my eyes but stuck my tongue out back. We both laughed.

"Times are dire," said Ashe Erza.

"That they are," Mama agreed.

"I will not allow Circle of Ash to succeed." Combat stomped a hoof, a cloud of dust billowing. It made Cherry standing next to him start coughing.

"Go now, and your chances of winning are much higher," said Mama.

"We will, thank you Mama," I nodded my thanks to her and yet again we all stepped through the fast travel gate. Salem decided he was going to stay behind. He was preparing to head back to the Sand-Sun house. We bid him farewell then stepped through.

* * *

"How went finding the Institute?" Piper asked after we had emerged from Double Diamond City's fast travel gate.

"It went pretty well. Met my ex best friend who's now my second coltfriend…it's complicated…" I shrugged. "He almost killed me but we realized all those feelings of hate were only in the way of something else."

"That kind of makes sense, I guess." Piper shrugged. "I mean, you can be poly all you want, doesn't bother me."

"Good, because that's the route we decided to take," Capper said. He was holding Cheshire's hand.

"Looks like you found yourself some…one as well." Piper glanced Cheshire up and down.

"He's actually been around for a long while, since Cumber actually." Capper shrugged. "Just didn't realize our feelings until we made it through the Wonderland program in the Institute, where Chessie got himself a real body."

"He was made purely of alicorn magic before," I told her.

"Oh, I see." she was nodding. "You guys are wild!"

"They really are," Wonder said. "I know I couldn't do it. I want OJ all to myself." the two of them nuzzled up to each other and OJ murmured under his breath.

"Merrr…"

"Come on you guys!" called the Guardian. "We need to speak to Double Diamond and Party Favor at once."

"They're in their house at the top of the mountain. It was built recently," said Piper.

"Thanks," said Buck.

We made our way to the big house at the top of the mountain where we found them in the middle of kissing each other! "Whoa!" I smiled as we approached.

"Hey now!" Party Favor was blushing furiously.

"We come here to be alone!" said Double Diamond. "It's our house, there is a doorbell."

"Right! Sorry!" I gasped.

"I'm not," Pumpkin was staring at them, her face upside down, and she was smiling wide.

"What's up anyway, dudes?" asked DD.

"Yeah, what brings ya?" Party had as wide a smile as Pumpkin and he was laughing at her. She stuck her tongue out at him as her head righted itself.

"We came to warn you," Ashe stepped to the forefront and Pumpkin backed away.

Party frowned, "Warn us? About what?"

Buck said, "Circle of Ash and Ritual of the Moon are coming to kill you."

"Right off the bat eh, my dude?" Double Diamond patted Buck on the shoulder. "You couldn't have put it anymore lightly?"

"I mean, it's a warning, how light can ya really get?"

"We already know the ritual, we just didn't know when. I'm glad somepony does though!" Party announced. "Our asses are saved, Double Diamond!"

"Not just yet. It's going to take all of us working together to stop your bitter halves."

"Bitter, I like that. It's not better, it's bitter!" Pumpkin was snickering in the background. That made Party laugh too.

"Me and her could get along well," Party said to his coltfriend.

"Oh hush." DD shook his head. Then he turned his attention on our group, "How soon until they get here?"

"Mama Madmare said within the hour!" OJ called.

"That was about half and hour ago," said Ashe Erza.

"So soon…" DD backed up and turned around, leading us to a room full of computers. On the monitors were camera views of all of Double Diamond City. "I'll have my guards double up the patrols and be on high alert. Party, can you get my walkie?"

"Yes, babe," Party winked and cantered off. When he came back he was carrying a radio. He handed it to DD.

"Come in Squad Leader," he said into the walkie.

" _This is Squad Leader, over."_

"This is Double Diamond. I need you to double the ranks, get every available guard to patrol the city. Be on the lookout for the ponies that look like Party and I. Their tell are their eyes. Red for Party Favor and white for me. That'll tell you dudes if it's us or not."

" _Red eyes or white eyes bad, got it, boss!"_

"If you see them, report at once. Over and out!" DD handed the talkie back to Party.

We headed outside, heading down the side of the mountain when dark black clouds rolled in, shrouding the city in darkness. "I wonder if this is it…" Pumpkin Spice ogled at the clouds.

"It's definitely not clowns," Capper lifted a paw.

"Get behind us," Ashe Erza stepped in front of the Mayor and the Secretary of Arcane Arts. "If this is it, best not to give them an opening."

Down below the fast travel gate began to crackle with a strange energy. It was visible all the way up here. Red electricity bolted from it, crackling between the spinning circles of magic. That's when Circle of Ash and Ritual of the Moon stepped through. There were a bunch of guards down there and they all surrounded the two at once. Circle's voice boomed, "It took us awhile to crack the arcane science behind your nifty little gates but we finally managed to break through. Neat trick, Princess Ashe!"

"Do not call me that!" snapped Ashe, her voice just as booming. They must be enhancing them with magic.

"Right, right, Boudica, Warrior Queen."

"You have no right to speak those words either."

"Fine, I'll just call you by your name, I was only trying to be formal and polite."

"Nothing from your lips is polite."

"Just because I'm evil doesn't mean I don't have manners!" he exclaimed.

"Stand down at once and none of you will get hurt." said Ritual of the Moon. His voice was way too eerily similar to Double Diamond's.

"We don't answer to you." said one of the guards.

"Very well!" Ritual snapped. He spread his hooves wide and a blue magical circle appeared beneath him. He was beginning to cast something big. It spread out and the guards all down below shifted uncomfortably. Before they could do anything about it a burst of white magic shot out in circumference and blasted all the guards surrounding the two. "How do you like us now, my dudes?" he was laughing evilly, very unlike Double Diamond.

"Summon the darklings, my ashlings have already overtaken the city." said Circle of Ash, quite off-hoof.

"How dare you speak in that manner! We will stop you." Ashe called down to him and he lifted a hoof, yawning.

"You bore me. You'll stop us? The eleven of you? Against my army of ashlings?" Circle lifted a hoof, showing off the ashlings now stepping from the shadows and side streets. One of them came out with Piper in hoof, she was struggling but he held on firmly to her.

"Look, dude, we even have a hostage!" Ritual laughed at us and then he turned and kissed Circle of Ash.

"You disgust me!" Ashe Erza spat.

"Want me to get him?" Joy was bouncing on his hooves, ready to enter Exceeded form at any time.

"I think we'll take on the ashlings, the six Elements of Harmony must battle Circle and Ritual." she said. Then she backed up and started discussing plans with the group.

"I think you're right!" said OJ, stepping forward. I stepped up next to him. Capper and Cheshire were right by my side. Pumpkin Spice was next to OJ and Buck was next to her. Then Combat budged his way through me and OJ, shoving his way to the front. He yelled as loudly as he could, which was pretty loud, "How dare you show your face to me again Circle of Ash. You're in for one hell of a beating when I get my hooves on you."

"Go ahead and try."

"NOW!" Ashe yelled and Joy jumped into the air. Felia was already performing her magic and Joy's wings appeared. He swooped down the side of the mountain, going into a nosedive. The snatched up Piper and carried her away to safety. Then he picked up Ashe as she put on her Winged Beast Armor. She was aerodynamic as Joy brought her down to do battle. Her wings began to flap and she was in the air, slashing her sword at the ashlings in her bath. There was blood, and a lot of it.

Felia was straining but she could do it! She Exceeded everypony that wasn't an Element, so Wonder and Cherry too. They swooped down and joined in the fray. "So it's a battle you want!" Circle yelled. "I'll gladly deliver Combat. Oh, and sorry not sorry I chose Ritual over you. He's much more evil." Circle licked his lips and the red energy crackled around the fast travel gate. A new gate appeared right in front of us and we had to jump back as Circle and Ritual came through. A few darklings came through as well.

"Time to giddy-up!" Orange Juice yelled. Pumpkin Spice giggled at that.

"Let's get em!" she yelled.

"Aye to that!" Combat yelled back and he was the first one to meet Circle head on…


	38. Chapter 35 Boulevard of Broken Dreams

**Chapter 35** Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Capper and I came face to face with Ritual. Cheshire hung back, using his magic to enhance ours. We were stronger with him and it was great. I felt it in my bones, the energy surging within me that Cheshire filled me with. Capper clapped his kitty claws together and magical energy sparked off them. I hoofed at the ground and fire magic flowed around my hooves. I was ready to burn my brand into Ritual. They would feel my rage.

Ritual had a circle of magic formed around him and he just kept summoning more darklings to defend him. Two of them stepped up in front of him and I slashed out at them, fire magic destroying them. "You have grown quite adept at defeating my darklings." Ritual said, his eyes ablaze in white colored magic. "That's troublesome. I suppose I'll just have to use Moon Magic on you instead."

Up above the clouds parted. There was a huge full moon in the sky and I cocked my head in confusion. The sun had been up only moments before the clouds had come rolling in. Had Ritual of the Moon really taken full control of the artificial Moon like that? That was dangerous magic indeed.

With a yell I rushed forward and my magic burned. It was bright and searing, doubly so by way of Cheshire's magic. "We are the Elements of Harmony, and we will not let anarchy take over Equestria! We will not let you take over Equestria." I sent a blaze out at Ritual and he only laughed. My fire burned him but then he was gone, like a darkling before me.

"Behind you." he tapped on my shoulder and I jumped about, punching out. I missed as he ducked then came back up to kick out at me. I jumped backward, dodging his attack. "We will not allow you to stop us from completing the ritual," he told me. I growled in response.

"Blitz, watch out!" came a yell from Capper. I saw bursts of his magical energy coming toward us. Behind me was a small cliffside and I had to jump sideways to get out of the way of the onslaught. The magic bombarded us, and I just barely avoided the explosions of energy they created when they touched down.

There was magic in the air everywhere and the sounds of battle were loud in my ears. Ponies were yelling, shouting out commands and I saw the Double Diamond City guard moving in down below. They were climbing the mountain, battling darklings and ashling alike that stood in their way. Some had taken control of the lift and were moving up to help us. I could tell it was a hard fought battle.

Orange Juice and Pumpkin Spice were busy dealing with Circle of Ash and two of his ashlings. They were tall, nearly as tall as Circle, about two hooves higher than OJ and Pumpkin, and Pumpkin was slightly taller than OJ! The way they held themselves, I could tell they were probably lieutenants and not just ordinary ashlings.

Ritual clapped his hooves to the ground in front of me, rearing up and yelling, "Pay attention, or your ought to miss all the fun!" he was giddily laughing and I had to run back to avoid his coming attack. The Moon shown ever brighter still and it made me worried. I didn't know what he was planning.

The magic in his hooves shot forward, barrating me and Capper. I held up a hoof, trying to stave it off and I saw Capper holding up both arms in an X formation, but the barrage kept coming and it was pushing me and him back, back, back. I gritted my teeth and tried to press forward against it.

I slowly made my way forward, alongside my tomfriend, and we pressed the advantage. Ritual was making an angry face at us but there was nothing he could do. I kicked up some fire magic and lashed out. It whipped out like a sash and burned my enemy. Capper tossed a few orbs and Ritual was yelling.

There was smoke everywhere, rising from where Ritual had been standing. We turned our attention to Circle of Ash, who was just now coming down on Buck, who had stood in the way of him attacking Orange Juice. If he hadn't, OJ would've been shoved right off the side of the cliff. Buck went crashing down and Circle was laughing.

"You foolish ponies cannot win! I have been at this longer than any of you have been alive. My plan has been in the works for decades!" his laugh tore through us, and we felt it deep in our chests. He was using some sort of spell in an attempt to subdue us.

I wasn't about to sit back and let him do it. I stood as tall as I could, still slightly ducked down, and I yelled against his overbearing strength. He turned around, laughing at me. I kicked up some of my violet red magic, letting it wash over my whole body. I called to Cheshire, "Give me the strength to stand!"

"I pour as much strength into your teacup as I can, dear Blitzy. If it overflows I could kill you." he shrugged and I grunted. If that was the best he could do it was going to have to be good enough.

I pressed forward, feeling like I was fighting a blizzard. My heart clenched and I felt it leap to my throat and sit there. For the effort I was exerting, my heart was beating rather slowly. I think Circle's spell was keeping not just our physical selves subdued but our energies as well. I felt like I was trudging through quicksand that was trying to drag me down.

"I have perfected my magicks, and what have all of you done? Taken some stupid little drug in the hopes of being better than me!" Circle was yelling above the wind. I realized then that Ritual was not defeated. His Moon still poured out its brilliant light high up above.

I finally reached Circle, and using all the magic I had at my disposal I shoved it all forward. A huge beam of magical energy came forth, and I felt my strength returning. I was searing into Circle, and all my rage was being poured into this one attack. I would be surprised if Circle survived it. Okay…I wouldn't be too surprised. I knew just how powerful Circle was. But in this moment, I was more powerful. I stood tall and proud as my magic finally ran out. I stopped using it to make sure I would have some left to fight with.

"Ha ha ha!" Circle's chest was heaving up and down as he laughed boisterously. "You cannot hope to defeat the great Circle of Ash!"

OJ's wings snapped open and his eyes were filled with a blinding light. "Maybe not he, but I can!" There was light on the tip of his horn so bright that it was like staring into the sun. I had to stop looking.

"We've got this!" Buck yelled, standing side by side with Combat Zone. "You and Capper focus on Ritual," Buck nodded toward the pony in question who was just now rising from the smoke.

"That was one heck of a trick!" he giggled. "But it wasn't enough to stop me!" I turned to face him, leaving Buck and Combat to assist OJ. Pumpkin Spice was bouncing beside me and I knew she was coming to help.

"I have more tricks, if you'd like to see them!" Pumpkin stuck her tongue out.

"Do share with the class!" Ritual was jumping up and down.

"Okay! How about some jump rope tricks?" Pumpkin opened a saddle bag and pulled out a jump rope. When she saw us staring at her she said, "What? It's recess! Time to play!" her eyes filled with magical orange light, a shade of an autumn leaf. The jump rope snapped out from her hoof, glowing with the same orange mana. It was a snake, lashing out as she whipped it to and fro. Ritual jumped back to avoid it and Pumpkin just kept on whipping it. "I've practiced lots, have you?"

"What are you doing, stop that at once!" Ritual was hit a few times and the orange magic stayed on his white fur in lines like gashes. But I don't think he was cut. I wasn't sure what Pumpkin Spice was doing.

Then I saw the more and more lines of magic she made the more tied up Ritual got. His hooves were being tightened in a magical grasp and it looked sorta like a ball of yarn. Or a big tangled mess of jump ropes. "I like playing with jump ropes but the worst part is untangling them all!" Pumpkin pouted. Ritual toppled over looking a little worse for wear.

"Fine then! Keep me like this, dude, but I'll get out. For now, battle my fiercest darklings! Alicorn formation!"

The Moon hid behind a few clouds, but before it did so its beams penetrated a few darklings. They screeched and began running around in circles. Then they crashed into each other and stopped. That's when a few synthetics that had been on the battlefield fighting the Double Diamond City guard showed up, having heard the command shouted by Ritual. They seemed to know exactly what to do. I noticed they shone brilliantly with the same Moon magic that Ritual had been using and knew the Moon beams must've hit them too.

I wondered if we had anymore of those converted memory orbs left but before I could even think to ask aloud, the darkling magic washed over the synthetics. They were overtaken and in their place was a rather tall alicorn shaped darkling, Moon magic glowing on the tip of its horn and in its eyes.

"We've got a bit of a problem, now don't we y'all." Capper lifted a finger.

"Anypony got anymore of those memory orb thingies that Nexus made us?" Pumpkin was looking around.

"I've got a few!" OJ called but he was still in the midst of battling Circle.

"I'll try to get them from OJ, you guys fight this thing off!" Pumpkin bounced away against protests from me. But it didn't matter anyway, those memory orbs were probably our best bet.

The alicorn darkling reared up and stomped its hooves, causing the ground to shake. I stumbled, nearly falling over like Ritual. I saw him struggling with his binds, but I didn't think he'd be getting out for awhile yet. We had bigger fish to fry now. I backed up a few paces with Capper and Cheshire and we stared up at the monster before us. "What now?" Cheshire floated forward, swirling on smoke and disappearing from sight before returning just behind us.

"Give us as much power as you can, baby," Capper winked and kissed both he then me. Then it was time to battle.

My apple grenades were the first things I used. I enhanced them with fire magic and tossed them at the darkling. The fire exploded into supernovas of energy and I saw the darkness faltering. Capper was forming his orbs into one gigantic orb before tossing it away at the darkling. It burst into a swirling storm of mana and the darkling reared back. It yelled, its voice booming over the mountain. Somewhere far off I heard an avalanche.

We were doing it, really beating it back, but stopping those synths in the midst of the swirling blackness would be our best bet. There were orbs of light on the tip of the horn that came raining down all around us and it seared my fur. I rolled to avoid a couple more but the magic seemed to try and chase us down. "Pumpkin, we could really use those memory spheres right about now!"

"Coming!" her voice came as a sing song and she bounced into sight. She activated the orbs and tossed them like grenades. The magic did its stuff and I saw the synths faltering. The darkness began swirling into clouds of black smoke and the Moon reappeared in the sky. That's when the darkling was vanquished but in its place Ritual had destroyed the bindings and was stepping forward.

"So I see you guys have found a way to disable our synths. Very well. Face me, dudes!" he screamed and I stepped up to the plate. Literally, there was a baseball plate beneath my hooves. I looked around and realized we had made it to a mini baseball stadium that must've been setup a long time ago.

Up above, Ashe Erza and her team were circling back, coming up the mountain with the Double Diamond City guard. She was being met with resistance by darklings that could fly and ashlings that seemed to have copied Joyride and Heart's technique. She met with an ashling with clashing blades and the clang rang out loud and clear over the battle. She was yelling something I couldn't make out and her sword fell.

Toppling end over end, it came crashing down in front of me, nearly slicing off my head! It pierced the ground, sticking straight up. I saw Double Diamond and Party Favor then, over the edge of the blade, and on the side of the mountain. They were being corralled by ashlings, prisoners of war. There was nothing I could do now.

It made me angry to see them like that, tied up and harnessed. I didn't think anypony deserved treatment like that for any reason. I decided to take my anger out on Ritual. I ripped the weapon out of the ground and used my fire magic to enhance the blade. Then I ran forward, slashing with all my might. Ritual laughed and his magic flared up into the shape of a blade, meeting mine.

Blocking my attack he laughed, "You are untrained, what do you hope to accomplish, silly?"

"I hope to accomplish chopping your damn head off." I snarled through gritted teeth.

"Who's the evil one here?" Ritual pressed forward and I was shoved back.

Lifting my sword, I tried bringing it down on him again but he only blocked me. Then it was my turn to block when he brought his magical sword down on me. I just barely managed to in time. "That was a close one, babe," Capper called, shooting finger guns at me. Bursts of magic left his fingers and I twirled to allow the magic to hit Ritual. He yelled but kept coming for me with his sword. I blocked and parried but to no avail. I was being put on the defensive.

I hated being put on the defensive. I jumped back to avoid another attack and my hooves nearly slid off the side of the cliff. Now I saw that the Double Diamond City guards were on this mountain with us, fighting ashlings and darklings all around. The city was being overtaken and if we didn't stop Circle of Ash and Ritual of the Moon soon, we would lose.

I ran forward, my sword pointed straight at Ritual. I yelled to Capper, "You need to distract him!" Capper didn't hesitate, rushing forward and tossing as much magic as he could. Red magic, green magic, brown magic, orange magic. I had no idea what the colors meant but I was glad for them. Ritual was angry and turned his attention to Capper.

But his attention wasn't lost on me, he still saw my approach. He gingerly stepped aside and when I missed him my sword pierced somepony else…Somepony important…And when the cries of his counterpart shot out, they pierced the battlefield harder than my sword could ever pierce anything.

Party Favor's voice stopped the entire battle and everypony paused in their fight to look at him. "No! How could you!" he growled at me, turning on me. "You…you killed him!" Double Diamond had fallen, and he would've hit the dirt if Party hadn't of caught him.

"You completed the ritual!" Circle stepped forward… "Or at least…half of the ritual."

"I…I didn't mean to!" I gulped and pointed at Ritual of the Moon, "He stepped aside, he dodged my attack!"

Over my hoof was Ritual, standing in complete shock. Then a white magic flared up and the clouds passing over the Moon began to swirl around in a circle. The magic that lit up the field was searing and in a beam connected with the Moon. Ritual was yelling. The white magic was coming off his eyes. "What…what's happening to me?"

Circle's lips curled on end, a perfect smile. "You're becoming what you were meant to become. An alicorn synth, just like this cat, just like Prince Orange Juice."

"But…but it hurts my dude!" cried out Ritual. "Wai-wait! Who…" he stumbled back and the white magic began fading in whisps. "Who are you? Stop this at once!" he lifted a hoof to his head and began to struggle with himself.

"My love?" Circle rushed forward but Orange Juice jumped in the way.

"You're not going anywhere."

"Get out of my way!"

"The Ritual was not the way they thought it was," Ashe landed on the pitch. "Look, he transforms."

OJ stepped to the side as he turned around and we all saw as the white magic lifted off Double Diamond. The body that Party had been carrying was now gone with the wind and the sun was shining once more. "Wha-what? Where did…Double Diamond?" Party had tears streaming down his face.

"Party…I know now what must be done." Double Diamond was staring directly into Party Favor's eyes and Party stepped back, bumping into the ashling that had held him captive.

"No! DD, you can't be serious!" Party looked down at the sword that had killed Double Diamond just minutes before.

Circle spun on his hooves and lifted the sword. "Stand back all! I will not allow you to kill my better half." he pointed the sword at us.

"Oh, so now you defend him?" Ashe laughed. Then she lifted her hoof and yelled, "Requip!" the sword disappeared from Circle's grasp and reappeared in hers. Circle actually looked scared.

"You wouldn't dare!" his bright red eyes were wide.

"I would if it means stopping you."

We all stood staring, wondering how this standoff would end. Then I saw him rushing forward, an old gun from the Castle in his hooves. It was Combat. "Move him aside, now Ashe!" Ashe nodded and jumped forward, using the wings from her armor to propel her into action. She shoved Circle of Ash out of the way as hard as she could and he went sprawling. Double Diamond caught him up.

The weapon of choice in Combat's hooves was an old rifle with a bayonet attached to the end. He plunged it deep into Party's chest and Party stared with wide eyes as he coughed up blood. Combat stared at Circle, who had red magic lifting from him. "This is for all the hardships you put me through. First as my friend then as raiders and then as enemies. This will be an end to all that! I'm Faust damned sick of it all Circle of Ash." he turned his gaze on Party, who had blood drizzling down his muzzle. "I'm sorry it had to end like this."

"No…you did the right…thing…" he choked on blood and slumped, eyes staring wide before the red magic disintegrated his body.

"Nooooo!" Circle was thrashing against the magic but there was absolutely nothing for it. The red lifted away from him, the cloak he wore lifting with it. It was shredded and the particles blew away in the wind.

The sky turned bright blue and the sun blazed down. It was over, finally over. We had one the battle in the most unexpected of ways, by completing the Ritual. "One thing I've seemed to learn of magic," Pumpkin said as she kicked up some energy with her hoof, "Is that once you've started a spell…" the magic she kicked up shot up into the sky, "It must be completed." the magic exploded into powerful fireworks, colorful enough to be seen in the day.

"This was a spell Circle of Ash started a long time ago." Party stepped forward. "I have to apologize, for all this is really my fault."

"It is not!" Ashe patted him on the back and he heaved a breath. "You could not of known of the fruit you would bear when you tried to revive yourself and your love."

"Circle was not your fault," Double Diamond stepped forward.

"So you two are alicorn synths now?"

"We're not quite alicorns, but we do have alicorn magic running through our veins." Party nodded.

"Yeah, I can feel it," Double laughed, "It's like a wave crashing on the beach! I like the way it feels, my dudes."

"We should celebrate!" Ashe called into the breeze of the day.

"I can get down with that!" Party giggled.

"Me too!" Pumpkin jumped up.

"First, we must deal with the ashlings." Buck said and we turned to face the crowd of ponies watching us.

OJ stepped forward, wings spread wide. "I hereby declare that any ashling seen in Broncston or Bittsberg will henceforth be imprisoned for life! You have until days end to leave or me and my friends will stop you!" with that the ashlings dispersed, along with their corrupted synths. "How did I do?" OJ turned to us with a big goofy smile on his face.

I smiled back at him, "I'd say that was a pretty good declaration!"

"Three hurrahs for our victory?" He cocked his head.

"Three hurrahs!" we all yelled, laughing and smiling.

"Hurrah!" we all turned to face the side of the mountain, watching the ashlings disperse from the city.

"Hurrah!" Capper put a hand on my shoulders and an arm around Cheshire's hips. We were all jumping and nuzzling each other, happy that we had won.

"Hurrah!" Double Diamond and Party Favor stepped forward, standing at the cliffs edge and watching over their city.

It was a happy scene, and I knew we were all glad with this turn of events. Peace had been restored to at least two parts of Equestria. We still had a long way to go if we wanted to restore all of Equestria to the way it once was but for now we were happy to revel in our victory.

And what a victory it had been.


	39. Deleted Scene(s)

**Deleted Scene(s)**

 **What's to Come: Swan Song**

"I got a thing or two to teach you about treasure hunting, but first I got a thing or two to teach you about Swan Lake." the ground began to shake.

 _"See here,"_ he snapped his fingers and somehow the light dimmed and his voice amplified. " _Now, I know this world ain't pretty, but I got something to say! Just take it from me, and you might come out alive today!"_

"Are you really about to start sing—" he jumped onto the iron fence and walked along the rail easily as he held up his hand and used magic to cast a spotlight upon himself.

 _"I don't know where you got your facts, but here's where I'm going, come this way!_

 _Here's where a beast/lies…in wait, O-oo-oo! And perhaps you_

 _think…you/can/negate?"_

As he sang I noticed a monster beginning to rise from the pond on the far side. As I stepped out of the alley, that's when my Pip Buck informed me

You have discovered

SWAN LAKE

Capper grabbed a lampost near the fence and swung around it to avoid a pike then continued walking along the fence.

 _"But here's where you think I'm wrong! Listen to me sing this song!_

 _This is my Swan Song, Swan Song, Swan Song,_

 _This is the Swan's pond, Swan's pond, Swan's pond!_

 _You went on a-wild…goose/chase, O-oo-o! Perhaps you stum-bled on a bad...place?"_

He hopped down to the sidewalk beneath the open gate. He began taking the stone steps two at a time as he sang, energized and walking toward the growing danger. When the beast rose up he tossed some orbs he'd prepared and it yelled loudly, definitely sounding like some sort of deformed bird but not exactly looking like one.

 _"This right here is where it gets nitty and gritty._

 _Now I know you're a bit confuzzled, take it with a grain of salt. I've left you lost and puzzled, but there's another way out!"_

I began shooting at the monster, noticing it was some sort of mutated pony. I'd heard of super ponies before but this was concerning. From what I'd heard they were half the size of this monster. My Pip Buck labelled it as BEHEMOTH: SWAN I continued firing, knowing I had plenty of bullets, but most likely not against this thing. Then Capper did something amazing: he made one large white orb between his two paws, spinning in a circle as he continued the song and sent little pinpricks of light to my flying bullets. I saw the damage on the beast increase tenfold.

 _"Together you and me, O-oo-o! We'll take charge, don'tcha see?_

 _He's a tough enemy, he's got the raiders running scared, you think I'm wrong?_

 _This is my Swan Song, Swan Song, Swan Song,_

 _But we are strong, yes strong, so strong!_

 _At Swan Lake, you cannot fake, but together, we will…Take…him…dooooooooown, yeah."_

He landed on all four paws, back arched, on a piece of debris in the water and was facing the Swan head on, "Now to just avoid his massive hammer thingie!"


End file.
